Over 830 PKK suspects arrested in Turkey's anti-terror operations
Xinhua, February 15, 2017 Adjust font size:
A total of 834 people linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been detained over the last two days in anti-terror operations across Turkey, the Turkish Security Directorate said in a written statement on Tuesday.
The operations took place in 37 different provinces, including the capital Ankara, Adana, Mersin, Konya,and Antalya, the statement said.
At least 86 suspects were detained on Tuesday while other suspects were captured on Monday.
The nephew of Sirri Sakik, the mayor of the eastern province of Agri, was also arrested in Mus.
During the raids, two AK-47s, 11 pistols, 15 shotguns and 437 cartridges were seized.
According to the statement, the operations were carried out in response to PKK senior cadres' orders to militants to launch attacks in the so-called "spring offensive," marking the 18th anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the terrorist group.
Abdullah Ocalan was captured on Feb. 15, 1999 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and brought to Turkey for trial.
The group is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., EU and Turkey, but its senior cadres have long managed to avoid capture by using the mountains in Turkey's southeast as cover as well as in areas of northern Iraq. Endit