11 August 2017•Update: 11 August 2017
By Halil Demir and Suleyman Elcin
ISTANBUL
Twelve suspected PKK terrorists were arrested in Istanbul on Friday in an operation to prevent imminent attacks, a police official said.
Among those arrested in raids across 11 districts of the city were a group that had received training in camps in Europe and were planning terror atrocities, the official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
The arrests came ahead of the Aug. 15 anniversary of the PKK’s first terror attacks in 1984.
Others arrested are thought to be PKK terrorists from the eastern provinces of Bingol and Tunceli who were hiding out in Istanbul, the police source said.
Also arrested were suspects allegedly involved in extorting Istanbul businesses for funding for the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU.
Six others linked to the terror plot are still on the loose, the official added.
Separately, a counter-terrorism operation led by police in Antalya province led to the arrests of 23 suspects across five provinces, a police official in Antalya said.
They were held for “conducting illegal activity” relating to the PKK, the official said under a similar condition of anonymity.
The leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Antalya province branch, Songul Sarkli and Ihsan Nergis, and two lawyers were among those arrested.
Following a fragile peace deal, the PKK resumed its armed campaign in July 2015. Since then, more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians have been killed.
