Four Turkish soldiers detained over PKK’s Kayseri attack

KAYSERİ

DHA photo

Four soldiers have been detained regarding the case of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) suicide attack in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri on Dec. 17, 2016, which claimed the lives of a total of 14 soldiers and wounded 55 others.

The detained soldiers were from the commando headquarters that was the target of the attack, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 12. 

Anti-terror units have conducted investigations into nearly 3,000 soldiers from the commando headquarters, including those who were previously discharged. Police are reportedly evaluating whether the soldiers might have leaked information from inside the headquarters about the transportation schedule of the soldiers, as well as whether the soldiers have engaged in PKK propaganda. 

The identities of the detained soldiers remain undisclosed.

Meanwhile, procedures regarding 23 detainees in the case were ongoing in the police headquarters, with six others released upon demands from the prosecutor. 

Some 29 people were previously detained in connection to the attack, including the driver of the bus that was targeted, the owner of the car that the suicide attack was carried out with, and the owner of the ID that was found on the PKK militant who conducted the attack. 

It was previously determined that the militant who carried out the attack had stolen the car from the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa and arrived in Kayseri via the southern province of Adana. 

According to the investigation into the attack, it was determined that Sait Karabulut, who prepared the insurance report for the bomb-laden car, had escaped to Ukraine. The prosecutor’s office applied to Interpol for Karabulut to be apprehended, daily Milliyet reported on Jan. 12. 

According to the investigation, the PKK planned to carry out the attack in Kayseri on Dec. 10, 2016, the same day as it attacked Beşiktaş’s Vodafone Arena Stadium. The order to stage both attacks was given by PKK member İshak Özçaktu, code-named “Porsipi.” 

Kenan Çiçek, a PKK militant detained after the attack, said in his testimony that due to the outlawed group’s inability to find a vehicle to carry out the Kayseri attack, it was postponed for one week. 

The authorities have determined that Çiçek brought the explosives to Adana from the Lice district of Diyarbakır province, suspect Ferhat Tekiner took the car from Şanlıurfa to Adana, suspect Murat Talan prepared the license plate and the suspect Karabulut prepared the insurance document. It was also determined that Karabulut sent the documents to Adana and delivered them to Çiçek.