Turkish police on Monday said they have apprehended a total of 19 suspects belonging to the DGH, the so-called youth movement of the PKK terrorist group, in Istanbul and Izmir provinces.
The Antiterrorism Bureau of Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had been monitoring figures within the DGH suspected of transferring recruits to the larger PKK bases in rural areas for some time now.
Teams conducted simultaneous operations in 20 different locations in Istanbul and Izmir to nab 22 suspects found in possession of communication flagged for criminal elements.
The police are currently on the trail of three other suspects who fled during the operations.
Monday’s arrests follow seven others last week caught trying to either enter or flee Türkiye via its southeastern and northwestern borders.
The PKK has been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands since the 1980s in its campaign of violence. Persistent counterterrorism operations reduced the number of its members hiding in Türkiye to below 120. Still, the terrorist group has more members hiding in mountainous territories of northern Iraq and Syria’s northeast near the Turkish border.
Figures by the Interior Ministry suggest that a total of 8,410 suspects aiding and abetting the PKK were detained last year, while 125 members of the terrorist group were convinced by authorities to surrender in 2022. In 2014, over 5,500 people joined the terrorist group, while it dropped below 1,000 in 2016. Last year, only 57 people joined the group.
