PKK bomb-maker captured in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

An outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant who was captured on May 3 at a bus station in Istanbul with a fake ID appears to be the militant who made the bomb used in the group’s deadly attack in the Silvan district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır late last year, police have said.

Police said the militant, identified as Y.A., was detained after he arrived at the Harem bus station in Istanbul. The suspect, who was carrying a fake ID with a name “Diyar Doğan” at the time of his capture, was reportedly wanted for 11 different counts and was the militant who made the bomb used in the Dec. 15, 2015, Silvan attack.

In the attack, which took place while an armored vehicle was passing on the Diyarbakır-Silvan motorway, police chief Ahmet Kabukçu, Mustafa Nohut, a special police force member, and official Nuri Yazaner were killed and two other officers were wounded.

The suspect was also allegedly preparing bomb set-ups in the Sur district of Diyarbakır and allegedly came to Istanbul from Diyarbakır to assist the preparations of a potential large-scale attack.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) announced on May 6 that Turkish jets have hit targets belonging to the PKK in northern Iraq.

Airstrikes were conducted in the Gara and Hakkurk regions against PKK weapon launching points and shelters between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.