Security forces have captured a total of 33 suspects linked to the PKK terrorist group in nationwide operations, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Monday.
Operation “Gürz-13” was conducted by intelligence officers and provincial police forces across 12 cities, including Istanbul, southern Antalya, Gaziantep, eastern Van and Elazığ provinces, Yerliakya said on X.
The suspects were active within the PKK in the past; they spread the terrorist group’s divisive propaganda, carried out arson attacks and participated in outlawed protests, Yerlikaya said.
The suspects, who attempted to flee abroad at some point, were all fugitive convicts with finalized sentences, according to the minister.
Police also seized a large number of digital materials during the raids.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to achieve a so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern regions and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as the United States and the European Union.
Security forces regularly conduct counterterrorism operations across the country, focusing on the eastern and southeastern provinces, where the PKK has attempted to establish a stronghold in its four-decade campaign of terror. Terrorists from the PKK and other groups, such as its Syrian wing, the YPG, and Daesh, rely on a network of members and supporters in Türkiye.
But increasing operations in recent years have driven the PKK’s domestic presence to near extinction and the terrorist group has moved a large chunk of its operation to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, which sits roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
Türkiye has, over the past 25 years, operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK and has been conducting airstrikes as part of “Claw” operations since 2022 to demolish terrorist lairs and prevent the formation of a terror corridor along its borders to both Iraq and Syria.
