PKK weapons, ammunition seized in Turkey’s Diyarbakır

DİYARBAKIR

A large number of weapons and rocket launcher ammunition has been found in a house that was allegedly used by outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) militants in Diyarbakır’s Sur district, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Security forces tightened their measures and precautions before President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Diyarbakır on April 1.

A number of weapons, ammunition and rocket launchers were seized during the raid on a derelict house, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office announced.   

The governor’s office said the raid was conducted with the aim of uncovering and preventing acts by the PKK on a derelict house in the İskenderpaşa neighborhood.

“Some 42 pieces of anti-personnel rocket launcher ammunition, eight pieces of anti-tank rocket launcher ammunition, 48 rocket launcher cartridges and 4,181 Kalashnikov bullets were seized during the raid,” the office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, three people, including one minor, were detained for allegedly burying ammunition under the house, according to the statement.  

Separately, the Turkish Interior Ministry said on March 27 that a total of 57 PKK militants were “neutralized” during operations conducted across the country over the past week.

Some 46 PKK militants were killed, while another 10 were captured and the last one surrendered to security forces, the ministry said in a statement. It added that 57 sanctuaries and caves used by the militants in seven provinces and 29 hand-made explosives and mines were destroyed. It stated that four tons of explosive materials, 24 hand-grenades and 52 weapons in different calibers were also seized during the operations.