A Syrian national who was preparing to carry out a terrorist act was nabbed by Turkish security forces on Thursday in an operation in the capital Ankara.
Police teams detained 10 Syrian nationals in two vehicles in Ankara and seized a mobile phone from one of the suspects that was ready to be connected to an explosive device.
Following recent operations against the PKK terrorist organization and its Syrian branch the YPG, Turkish intelligence units determined that the YPG was preparing to carry out terrorist acts, security sources told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Profiling experts working in the international risk analysis groups formed under the Intelligence and Anti-Terror Branch directorates of the Ankara Police Department traced the suspects, who were found to have entered the country from Syria illegally.
Intensifying the investigation with the instructions received from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the security teams examined the digital materials seized from the suspects.
From the materials examined by the digital and cyber analysis police unit, it was determined that the main suspect was trained by the terrorist group with two other suspects.
Photos of the suspects wearing uniforms of the organization's so-called special forces with long-barreled weapons were also discovered among the materials.
The police teams launched an operation and caught the two other suspects, who were in contact with the main suspect.
Later, photos of explosive materials prepared in Syria were found during the investigation.
A special team of experts from various security departments, including members of the intelligence and anti-terror unit and bomb disposal and investigation branch, was formed for the interrogation of the detainees.
The main suspect confessed that he had entered Turkey to carry out a bomb attack, adding he was in the YPG terrorist group in Syria for seven months along with one of the other suspects.
The teams determined that the suspects operated in Syria for the terrorist organization and received ideological and armed training and dug tunnels and culverts for the terrorist group.
It was also learned that the main suspect, who was trained in explosives, was sent to Turkey and offered money to carry out a bomb attack.
The security forces also caught those who facilitated the suspect's illegal entry into Turkey.
The three suspects, following their interrogation, were transferred to a courthouse on charges of being members of an armed terrorist organization and attempting to commit a bomb attack on behalf of the YPG. These three were arrested and three other suspects were released on bail.
Other foreign nationals who entered Turkey illegally were handed over to the provincial migration authority for the necessary procedures.
Efforts continue to catch other members of the terrorist organization who were identified by the suspects during the investigation and determined by the intelligence and anti-terror unit teams.
In its more than 40-year terrorism campaign against Turkey, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.