Counterterrorism police detained 11 suspects in three provinces early Monday in operations against the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) terrorist group.
The operations followed an investigation into MLKP suspects, particularly its so-called “youth wing.” Authorities ordered the arrest of 14 suspects. Police officers raided several locations in Istanbul, the northwestern province of Bursa and the western region of Izmir. They confiscated documents and digital material used for terrorist propaganda in the raids. Operations are underway to capture three suspects who remain at large.
The MLKP, founded in 1994, is on Türkiye’s list of “primary terrorist organizations."
In January, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) eliminated Zeki Gürbüz, a group leader in Syria, in an operation in the country’s al-Hasakah region.
Although it tries to portray itself as a separate group, the MLKP often aligns with the PKK. The PKK has conducted a bloody campaign of terrorism across Türkiye for decades, killing thousands of people, particularly in the southeast. During Türkiye’s operations in Syria’s north to wipe out the PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG presence, several MLKP members joined the PKK/YPG in terrorist attacks targeting Turkish security Syrian opposition forces.
