145 arrested in Turkey for suspected links to Kurdish militants

Two days after a bombing in Ankara that the terrorist organisation claimed responsibility for, Turkish police detained roughly 145 people nationwide overnight on suspicion of having ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), according to reports in state media on Tuesday. In Ankara on Sunday, two assailants killed each other and two police officers when a device they were carrying exploded nearby government facilities. The militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a banned organisation, claimed responsibility. Immediately after the PKK claimed responsibility, Turkey launched airstrikes against militant targets in northern Iraq and detained suspects in Istanbul over the course of one night. Sanliurfa province in southeast Turkey served as the focal point of the most recent police operations. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on the X social media platform on Tuesday that 466 operations had been conducted against the PKK’s “intelligence units” throughout the nation. He stated that 55 people have been taken into custody across 16 provinces. (With agency inputs)