Turkish security forces have launched an operation against the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 18 provinces of the country, and 90 suspects have been detained, the pro-government mass media write.
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“The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and security forces launched Operation Sleeper Cell in 18 provinces, centered in Sanliurfa, against the separatist terrorist organization PKK. To date, about 90 suspects have been detained as part of the operation,” the publication said.
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The head of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ali Yerlikaya, last Sunday reported an attempted terrorist attack near the ministry building in the center of Ankara; one terrorist blew himself up, another was neutralized. During the shootout, two police officers were slightly wounded. As reported by A Haber TV channel, the PKK, banned in Turkey, claimed responsibility for the attempted terrorist attack. After these events, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense reported air strikes on PKK militant targets in northern Iraq and the destruction of twenty militant targets.
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The armed conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party began in Turkey in 1984 and resumed in 2015. In northern Iraq there are PKK bases, against which the Turkish Armed Forces are conducting air and ground operations. The presence of Turkish troops in the Zlikan camp northeast of Mosul has long been a source of contention between Baghdad and Ankara, which justifies the presence as a need to fight Turkey’s outlawed PKK.
