Police detain 15 in anti-terror operation as PKK continues its attacks in Turkey

Turkish police on Saturday have detained 15 PKK-linked suspects and confiscated weapons and substantial amount of organizational documents in a simultaneous dawn anti-terror operation conducted at 13 locations in Istanbul.

Anti-terror teams - reinforced by special ops and riot police - detained 15 suspects linked with the PKK terrorist group as well as it youth wing, the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H). The teams conducted operations in Istanbul's 13 districts.

The suspects were allegedly planning to carry out actions of terror on Istanbul streets before their detention and were going to throw Molotov cocktails at public buildings as well as police vehicles.

Meanwhile, an attack by PKK terrorists left two Turkish gendarmes injured in eastern Turkey early on Saturday.

An explosives-laden van was detonated outside a gendarme station near the village of Kaynarca, just to the south of Lake Van, at around 5 a.m. (0200GMT) causing slight injuries to the gendarmes, the office of Bitlis provincial governor said in a statement.

In another attack, a gendarmerie station in nearby Cevizyatağı was targeted with rockets and small arms fire. A third incident occurred when a rocket was fired at an armored police vehicle in the Tatvan district. There were no reported casualties from either incident.

To the north, in Erzurum province, a police station in Pasinler district was also attacked with rockets and small arms. Again, there were no reported casualties.

The incidents follow a deadly attack on Friday night in southeastern Hakkari province that left three soldiers dead and six wounded, according to the Turkish military.

Around 40 security forces personnel have been killed since the PKK - designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and U.S. - renewed its armed campaign following the July 20 Suruç bombing.