Police detain 23 PKK, 12 ISIL suspects

MERSİN

A total of 23 people were detained during operations against the PKK/KCK in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya on May 22, while Istanbul police nabbed 12 ISIL suspects.

The operations against the PKK were launched after a group calling themselves “children of fire” shared posts “to create chaos and fear” on social media, the gendarmerie said.

The detentions came upon the studies carried out to identify the group members allegedly responsible for forest fires, throwing Molotov cocktails, illegal demonstrations and arson attacks across the country.

Police also seized a large number of digital materials and documents during the searches conducted at the detainees’ addresses.

Meanwhile, during the Istanbul-based operations against ISIL, 12 suspects found to be linked to the organization were caught in three provinces.

Istanbul police’s anti-terror unit determined the addresses of the suspects after a study carried out to decipher the activities of the organization across the country.

Türkiye has been attacked by ISIL terrorists multiple times, with at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed attacks, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds more.