Turkish soldiers apprehend PKK militant responsible for attacks

ANKARA

AA photo

Turkish soldiers have apprehended an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant responsible for organizing several deadly bomb attacks in Turkey. 

Hacı Türmak, who has been code-named “Doktor Aydın” and “Çiya Amed,” was caught in northern Iraq with an operation carried out by the Special Forces Command in cooperation with the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga forces, daily Karar reported on May 2.

Türmak is reportedly a militant of the outlawed Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of the PKK, responsible for organizing a number of deadly attacks, including in Ankara, Istanbul, the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep, Diyarbakır and the western province of İzmir, which in total claimed dozens of lives. 

The Turkish security forces have recently stepped up operations against the PKK militants and have killed many being sought with bounties on their heads.

Türmak was apprehended several months ago but he was not brought to Turkey, upon a joint decision by the Turkish authorities and the KRG. He was instead held in a prison belonging to the Peshmerga forces under tight security conditions. His interrogation was reportedly carried out by a special unit sent to the KRG from Turkey. 

Intelligence reports said Türmak was one of the PKK militants who knew about the planning of attacks and gathered militants and items to be used in staging attacks from northern Iraq.  

Karar also reported that a report presented to the Turkish Interior Ministry showed that the income of the outlawed group obtained from cannabis fields in 12 villages of Diyarbakır were conveyed to Türmak in order to contribute to deadly attacks in Turkey’s metropolises. With this income Türmak reportedly helped organize almost 20 attacks over the last two years.