Security forces nab 4 suspected YPG/PKK terrorists

HATAY, Turkey

Security forces in southern Turkey arrested an alleged YPG/PKK terrorist said to be planning an attack in nearby northern Syria – an area Turkish forces had liberated of terrorists – along with three accomplices, local authorities said Tuesday.

Provincial gendarmerie teams in Dortyol in the southern Hatay province arrested the terrorist, who was preparing a bomb attack on members of the Turkish Armed Forces, local Syrian allies, and civilians in the Operation Olive Branch area in northern Syria, said the local governor's office.

All four suspects were arrested for armed terrorist group membership.

During the arrests, six mobile phones, 13 SIM cards, 10 memory cards, five external hard drives, and seven hard disks were seized at the suspects’ addresses.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and to enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.