Fifteen suspected PKK members arrested in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Fifteen people were placed under arrest on Tuesday in Istanbul for allegedly being linked to the terrorist organization PKK, Turkish police have said.

Last Friday, counter-terrorism police carried out raids on 73 addresses in 28 districts of Istanbul, in which at least 50 people had been taken into custody for allegedly being linked to the terrorist organization PKK.

On Monday, the public prosecutor of Istanbul released 24 suspects out of 50 and referred the remaining 26 to the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of Peace.

The court ordered the arrest of 15 of the 26 suspects, including figures from the Peoples' Democratic Party’s (HDP) Besiktas and Eyup branch offices. The remaining 11 suspects were released.

Turkey has been carrying out operations against the PKK at home and abroad since late July, amid a spike in attacks targeting security officers.

The renewal of fighting between the PKK and Turkish security forces marked the end of the fragile two-and-a-half year lull to fighting -- dubbed the “solution process” -- aimed at resolving the 30-year conflict.

Founded in the late 1978, PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the U.S.

There have been numerous arrests across Turkey since the July 20 Suruc suicide bombing that killed 32 people; most of the suspects detained since then are suspected of being linked to the terrorist groups PKK, Daesh or the far-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front.