Police capture PKK militant suspected of Istanbul bomb attack

AKSARAY/ISTANBUL

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Police in the Central Anatolian province of Aksaray early on Oct. 7 detained an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant who was the suspected perpetrator a bomb attack in Istanbul near a police station, which wounded 10, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Istanbul counter-terrorism police identified the suspected bomber on the run via security footage, determining that he had left the city in a civil car to join PKK camps in Syria and Iraq. Police informed security units across the country to apprehend the perpetrator.

Police units in Aksaray stopped a suspicious car and captured three militants - identified as Ekrem G., Felek G. and Serdar G. - including the perpetrator who was carrying a fake identity card. A Glock-model gun was also seized inside the car.

The three suspects, who narrowly escaped a lynching from angry locals in Aksaray, were later taken to the Aksaray State Hospital for health checks before being brought to the Istanbul police headquarters.

In addition, another three suspects were detained in Istanbul in connection to the attack, bringing the total number of detainees to six.

The owner of the motorcycle used in the attack has said he lent it to one of his friends. Police, meanwhile, stated that a plastic explosive had been used in the attack.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said late on Oct. 6 that the bomb attack was bypassed with the slightest damage possible due to security measures, describing it as a “big attack.”

Ten civilians were wounded in the motorcycle bomb attack near a police station in the Yenibosna neighborhood of Istanbul on the afternoon of Oct. 6

Meanwhile, one soldier who was killed in a PKK attack in the Gürpınar district of the eastern province of Van was laid to rest on Oct. 7.

Specialized Sgt. Taha Emre Zileligil was killed on Oct. 6 when PKK militants detonated a hand-made explosive placed on a culvert. Zileligil was sent to his hometown of Sivas following a military funeral ceremony in Van.

In addition, the Turkish military also announced that it had conducted an air operation targeting PKK positions in northern Iraq on Oct. 6.

It said four sanctuaries, one cave and one equipment store used by the militants were destroyed in the operation which was conducted between 7:37 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. in the Avaşin, Basyan and Kandil regions.