PKK suspect attempts suicide during arrest

Law enforcers in southern Turkey's İzmir Tuesday detained a suspected PKK terrorist, who tried to take his own life to avoid arrest.

Sinan D. and four other individuals, including two civil servants, were captured in anti-terrorism operations in İzmir's Buca district.

The suspected PKK militant was accused of plotting an attack on the city.

After realizing that the police was about to raid his hideout, Sinan D. slit his throat, but the self-inflicted injury was nonlife-threatening. He was late taken to a local police station under tight security with bandages around his neck.

The other suspects were accused of helping the suspect hide after he arrived in İzmir from southeastern Turkey's Diyarbakır. Another suspect accused of dispatching Sinan D. to carry out an attack in İzmir was later captured in Diyarbakır.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union, resumed its armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of roughly 1,200 security personnel and civilians.

The PKK mainly targets southeastern and eastern regions of Turkey in its campaign of violence. It is also these regions wherein it recruits militants. It occasionally carries out attacks in western cities. In August, eight people were wounded in a blast, blamed on the terrorist group, in Buca. Senior PKK leaders and PKK-linked political figures have previously leveled threats, indicating that western provinces will be targeted as well.