Turkish police launched a counterterrorism raid in Istanbul early yesterday, seizing dozens of bullets and rifles, according to security sources.
The operation, targeting suspects accused of being members of the terrorist organization PKK's youth wing Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), was held at a cafe in the city's Okmeydanı district.
Three rifles, a handgun, a telescopic sight and ammunition, which were hidden in different parts of the cafe, were seized during the raid. The cafe owner was also taken into custody.
Turkey, the United States and the EU list the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Turkey's government has been active in promoting a "reconciliation process" aimed at securing an end to the decades-long conflict with the PKK, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.
Although it has ceased most of the lethal attacks it carried out in the 1990s and 1980s, the group occasionally targets construction sites and troops in southeastern Turkey. Yesterday, a remote-controlled roadside bomb exploded in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır's Silvan district as an armored personnel carrier with troops providing security for the construction of a dam was passing by. The armored vehicle was slightly damaged in the attack that was blamed on the PKK. The terrorist organization was responsible for the explosion of a homemade roadside bomb in the same area on July 2. No casualties were reported in both incidents.
The PKK, which is based in the mountainous terrain in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, announced in 2013 that it would leave its mountain hideouts in eastern and southeastern Turkey. Still, the group's youth wing, the YDG-H, remains active both in Diyarbakır and western cities. The YDG-H often stages riots in cities and attacks security forces.
Turkish security forces had stepped up operations against YDG-H in recent weeks, rounding up dozens of suspects linked to the group.
