Police launch anti-terror operations in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

clashes erupted between the security forces and protesters in the neighborhood. DHA Photo

Anti-terror police have launched separate operations in Istanbul against the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H) and the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).

Some 15 suspects were detained in the operations launched against the DHKP-C in Istanbul’s Gazi neighborhood on Sept. 12. A number of guns and documents were seized at the homes raided by the police.

Tensions escalated in the area and clashes erupted between the security forces and protesters. Police used tear gas to disperse the groups while TOMAs (riot control vehicles) and armored vehicles were also dispatched to the area.

A group managed to escape the neighborhood and headed directly to the Mimar Sinan city forest. The protesters, who were said to have guns, set a security cabin alight at the entrance of the forest when security officers from the recreational area tried to disperse them. When the firefighters arrived at the scene the cabin at the entrance was already completely burnt.

Meanwhile, some 20 suspects who were detained in another operation against the YDG-H on Sept. 12, a youth organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), were transferred to court after undergoing medical examinations.