Extradition of PKK car bomb attack suspect sought from Germany following capture

A court in the central city of Kayseri ordered that an extradition request be prepared for Sait Karabulut, a suspect linked to the PKK terrorist group, from Germany.

Karabulut, who was recently captured in Germany, was one of fugitive defendants in a terror attack in Kayseri on Dec. 17, 2016. Fifteen soldiers were killed and 54 others were injured when a car bomb exploded next to a public bus carrying soldiers.

The soldiers, consisting of low-ranking privates and non-commissioned officers, were on leave from the commando headquarters in the city when the terrorist attack was carried out.

Three were detained earlier in connection with the bombing. Karabulut was among three fugitive defendants.

The court ruled for carrying out necessary procedures and transactions for extradition of Karabulut from Germany and decided the continuation of arrest warrants issued for two other fugitives.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a terrorist group linked to the PKK, has claimed the attack against the soldiers who are at times deployed to the country's volatile southeast where the PKK has been waging a campaign of violence.

TAK was behind a string of bombings in the country in 2016 and in 2017, including one targeting riot police in Istanbul that left 46 people dead in December 2016 and a recent attempt to attack judges and prosecutors at a courthouse in the western city of Izmir which was thwarted by a policeman who was killed in a shootout with terrorists.