Troops raid shelter of PKK in eastern city

BİNGÖL - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Special Forces troops seized one sniper rifle, two solar panels, two power generators, 50 pairs of shoes and five tons of food in the underground shelter.

A major underground shelter in the eastern city of Bingöl that belonged to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been exposed and two PKK militants have been captured, security sources said.
The Bingöl Governor’s Office said in a statement yesterday the militants captured were responsible for the attack against a military post in Tunceli on May 1, 2010 in which six Turkish soldiers were killed.
One of those captured was the regional commander of the outlawed organization, the statement said.
Based on the militants’ testimonies, a major shelter near Bingöl’s Ortaçanak region was also exposed. Security sources said the shelter, which had two rooms capable of hosting up to 20 militants, was the biggest exposed in the area in recent years.

Special Forces troops seized one sniper rifle, two solar panels, seven radio antennas, two power generators, 50 pairs of shoes, five tons of food, cleaning and hygiene products and medicines. The seized material was destroyed on the orders of the prosecutor’s office and the shelter was blown up, security sources said.

Meanwhile, a court in Bingöl yesterday ordered the arrest of 12 of the 16 people who were detained Dec. 22 for alleged links to the PKK. The suspects are accused of supplying the PKK militants with food and equipment, providing information about the movements of troops and helping the militants collect money from the citizens in the region.

The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the United States.