Major PKK attack plan foiled by Adana police

ADANA/ANKARA

Police have foiled a major attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that had been planned to hit the Turkish capital Ankara.

The police carried out a raid and seized a massive amount of ammonium nitrate from an address in the Çukurova district of the southern province of Adana on Aug. 11, Doğan News Agency reported on Aug. 15.

The authorities have determined that the weapons and explosives confiscated would create an explosion 10 times stronger than the one that occurred in front of the Adana Governor’s Office last year, and the attack was planned to be carried out in Ankara.

Two people were killed and 16 were wounded when PKK militants staged a car-bomb attack in front of the Adana Governor’s Office on Nov. 24, 2016. 

A total of 30 addresses were raided early on Aug. 11 with aerial support and Special Forces police in the Seyhan, Yüreğir and Çukurova districts after authorities found that militants were planning to stage an attack on Aug. 15, which coincides with the 33rd anniversary of the PKK’s first attack.

Police raided a luxury villa in the Çukurova district and confiscated 12 Kalashnikov rifles, 24 hand grenades, 12 assault vests, 1,000 long-barreled weapon bullets, 96 magazines, 12 police uniforms, 49 large buckets, 1.5 tons of ammonium nitrate, 300 kilograms of nails, 25 gas masks, more than 200 liters of gasoline, switches, cables, and many other materials used to make explosives.

Police in Ankara have been on high alert after finding out that the police uniforms had “Ankara” written on them, while the authorities were evaluating other intelligence related to the PKK. 

The explosives seized from the house, including 1.5 tons of ammonium nitrate, were delivered to bomb disposal teams and police in Adana started searching for stolen or rented cars due to the possibility of PKK militants planning to place explosives in a car.  

Police have been searching for cars all over Adana for this reason. 

Also in Adana, an operation against the PKK was carried out early on Aug. 15. 

A total of 12 people were detained in the simultaneous operation conducted at 15 different addresses with support from Special Forces police and armored vehicles.

Another operation was carried out in the southeastern province of Şırnak and 30 people were detained on Aug. 15. 

Operations were conducted in the center of Şırnak, as well as its Cizre, Silopi and İdil districts, according to a statement released by the Şırnak Governor’s Office.

Elsewhere, Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq, “neutralizing” 21 militants. 

According to a statement released by the Turkish Armed Forces, airstrikes were carried out around the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq, which hosts the headquarters of the PKK, on Aug. 12. 

The army said that out of the 21 militants who were “neutralized,” 13 were killed. 

Authorities use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply the militants in question were either killed, wounded or captured.      

“According to information received from the sources in the region after the operation, 13 terrorists were killed and eight were heavily wounded. In total, 21 members of the separatist terrorist organization were neutralized,” the military stated on Aug. 14. 

Weapons and ammunition storages and weapon launching pits belonging to the PKK were also destroyed, it added.