PKK militants planned attacks through by disguising themselves as police in Turkey’s south

ADANA

Militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were planning to stage attacks by disguising themselves as police officers in the southern province of Adana.  

While carrying out operations against the PKK, police officers and the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) found that militants were planning to carry out a bomb and armed attack after putting on police uniforms, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Aug. 14.

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 of Adana. 

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. 

The suspects could not be found in searches of the house and its surroundings, but police believe that 12 militants were living in the house.

According to police, the militants rented the house for 2,500 Turkish Liras per month and were planning to stage an attack on Aug. 15, which coincides with the 33rd anniversary of the PKK’s first attack. 

The militants reportedly arrived at the lavish house just once to hide the explosives and weapons and were never seen again in order to not draw attention to themselves. 

The authorities believe that the militants were waiting until Aug. 15 to return to the house, and the search to find the militants is ongoing.

Elsewhere, two workers were killed when PKK militants detonated an explosive during the passage of a truck in the Şemdinli district of the southeastern province of Hakkari on Aug. 14. 

The truck was carrying construction materials to a police post in Şemdinli when a bomb hidden by the PKK was detonated. 

A wide-scale investigation has been launched into the attack.