442 arrested in terror operations in Turkey in last week: Interior Ministry

ANKARA

AA photo

Some 442 people were arrested in terror operations conducted in just the last week around Turkey, the Interior Ministry has announced. 

According to the ministry, drugs worth some 11 million Turkish liras were also confiscated in operations that were carried out between Jan. 2 and 9.

The ministry said a total of 253 operations were conducted around Turkey against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) with the participation of Gendarmerie Special Forces, Gendarmerie Commando Units, Police Special Forces and the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) ground and aerial elements. Nine militants were “neutralized” as a result of these operations. According to the ministry three militants were killed, two militants surrendered and four militants were apprehended. 

The army often uses the term “neutralized” to denote killed or incapacitated militants.

Some 344 people were detained in operations targeting the PKK and the outlawed Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) on charges of aiding the aforementioned two organizations. A total of 36 out of those 344 were arrested. 

In the operations, a total of 48 shelters and caves used by militants were destroyed. In addition, some 45 hand-made explosives and mines were destroyed. Some 183 kilograms of objects used in making explosives, including 16 kilograms of TNT, five kilograms of C-4 plastic explosives, 33 hand grenades and 70 weapons, of which 50 were heavy and long-barreled, were seized in the operations. 

Moreover, in the operations aimed at cutting the PKK’s financing, drugs worth 11,055,530 Turkish Liras were confiscated. Smuggled cigarettes and fuel with a market value of 13,318,961 liras were also seized in the operations. Some 106 people were detained as part of the aforementioned operations. 

Furthermore, 627 people were detained as part of operations targeting the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETÖ/PDY), 406 of whom were arrested.

Meanwhile, as part of the struggle against foreign militants, 129 people were detained in connection with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 

Elsewhere, a total of 1,628 unregistered migrants, of whom 191 were caught at sea, were apprehended as part of efforts against illegal immigration. Some 34 organizers of illegal immigration were detained, 25 of whom were arrested.