Turkey arrests 15 PKK members

The Turkish security forces conducted an operation on Tuesday morning to arrest members of the terrorist group Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Sabah newspaper reported.

The arrested people are suspected of planning protests in support of the PKK. PKK claims responsibility for bomb blasts committed near the state institutions in Ankara last week. The blasts killed three people and injured 34.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted for over 25 years, claiming over 40,000 lives. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by both the UN and the EU.

The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces last Wednesday stated that it will continue to strike at the PKK positions in northern Iraq.

Air strikes were conducted after the militants’ terror attack in southeastern Turkey on Aug. 17, in which nine Turkish servicemen were killed. These were the first strikes by Turkey in northern Iraq more than a year.

The Turkish aircrafts had carried out 58 air raids to bomb the PKK bases and struck 152 targets since Aug.17. According to the military, about 300 terrorists were killed in August.


/Trend/