13 PKK terror suspects arrested across Turkey

ANKARA

Turkish police have arrested at least 13 people over alleged links to the PKK terrorist organization, sources said on Tuesday.

Eight of the suspects, arrested in the Turkish capital Ankara, were operating directly under the instructions of the terror group as part of efforts to coordinate its structuring in Turkey, according to judicial and security sources.

Security forces have been tracking their activities for some time and determined that they received training at the PKK's headquarters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq by senior PKK figures, including Duran Kalkan and Nurettin Demirtas, said the sources, asking not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Having undergone up to 45 days of training, the suspects were sent back to Turkey to serve the terror group, particularly in recruiting new members, as well as in agitation and propaganda efforts, they added.

One of the arrested suspects worked as a medic treating YPG/PKK members injured during the violent acts by the terror group's supporters in October 2014 that killed at least 35 people, as well as in other terror plots in 2015.

In a separate investigation based in the eastern province of Kars, five other suspects were apprehended in the Digor district, as well as in the southern Adana province, over allegations of links to the PKK.

Along with these suspects, an air rifle, an unlicensed hunting rifle, and a vast amount of digital and printed organizational documents were also seized.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk