Police searching for PKK militant preparing attack in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Police have launched efforts to apprehend an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant who arrived in Istanbul to carry out an attack.
Authorities on Nov. 19 shared the photo of Yunus Sanamalı, code-named “Baver,” and asked citizens to notify police if they spot him.
Intelligence and police units determined that Sanamalı arrived in Istanbul a short while ago to carry out a “sensational” attack and has been changing his location by using fake IDs.
A total of 14 people were previously detained in anti-terror operations for providing shelter, transportation and logistical support to Sanamalı, as well as carrying out reconnaissance efforts for him. Six of them were arrested.
An extensive search is underway to apprehend Sanamalı and three others who were determined to have helped him.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry announced on Nov. 20 that a total of 58 PKK militants were “neutralized” in operations conducted between Nov. 13 and 20.
Authorities use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply that the militants in question were either killed, wounded or captured.
According to the ministry, 45 militants were captured dead and 10 others were apprehended alive, while three militants surrendered to the security forces.
Some 1,366 anti-terror operations were carried out in the period, the ministry said, adding that 63 people were detained over their links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and 666 others were detained as part of the campaign against the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have been behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
Ten suspects were also detained as part of police’s efforts against “leftist terrorist groups,” the ministry stated.
A total of 5,273 people were detained over the past week on several charges, with 4,213 of them apprehended on narcotics and smuggling charges, it added.
