Türkiye launches nationwide counterterrorism op

ANKARA

Turkish security forces have apprehended a total of 67 terror suspects in a new round of operation “Heroes” targeting the PKK terrorist group, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

The suspects who were apprehended had been under the National Intelligence Organization’s (MİT) surveillance for approximately 10 months, as intelligence units sought to dismantle what the PKK referred to as its "military intelligence unit." MİT placed several names under surveillance in Türkiye, Iraq’s north and Syria before the operations.

Yerlikaya, in a social media post, said that security forces from the MİT, the police and gendarmerie conducted 466 operations against the terror group as of Oct. 3 morning.

The southeastern province of Şanlıurfa-based operations spanned across various regions, including Istanbul, Antalya, Adana, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Mardin, Mersin, Denizli, Konya, Kayseri, Batman, Isparta, Balıkesir, Şırnak, Kocaeli, and Amasya.

Yerlikaya also noted that a total of 13,440 security personnel were involved in the ongoing 466 counterterrorism operations as part of a nationwide initiative dubbed "Heroes."

While security forces routinely conduct raids to apprehend individuals linked to the terrorist group, this recent operation stands as the largest-scale crackdown against the PKK this month. It came in the wake of a terrorist attack on Oct. 1, when two assailants targeted an Interior Ministry building housing the Turkish National Police headquarters in Ankara, coinciding with the commencement of a parliamentary session nearby.

Two police officers stopped terrorists arriving with a large cache of explosives and weapons. One of the terrorists blew himself up at the gate of the building after he advanced towards the officers and opened fire. The other terrorist, who remained in the car the duo arrived in, exchanged gunfire with officers before he was shot dead. PKK claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.