11 PKK suspects detained for 'provocative action' on Election Day

ISTANBUL

Turkish police detained 11 suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Ankara on June 23 on suspicion of planning a "provocative action" during voting on June 24, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants on eight more suspects.

14 suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group accused of planning an attack on elections this weekend were detained in Ankara on June 21.

In a separate operation on June 23, four suspects were arrested over links to the movement of the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen while they were trying to cross into Greece illegally through the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne.

Gülen is widely believed to be the mastermind of the 2016 coup attempt and his movement was designated as Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) by the Turkish government.

In another operation, a husband and wife were detained for suspected links to FETÖ in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.

In the southwestern province of Burdur, a wanted suspect was arrested during an anti-terror operation.

Two individuals were also remanded in the western province of Burdur and central Sivas province over links to al-Nusra, another group designated as a terrorist organization.

High security is expected across the country during the elections on June 24, with 38,480 police officers expected to be on duty in Istanbul alone.

As is customary in Turkey on election days, sales of alcohol in shops will also be prohibited.