Ankara police arrest 9 over suspected terror links

By Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA (AA) - Nine people allegedly linked to the PKK terrorist group have been arrested during counterterrorism operations in Turkey's capital city Ankara, security sources said on Monday.

According to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media, the suspects were planning a terror act for the anniversary of the 1999 arrest of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed head of the terrorist organization PKK.

The suspects -- including the alleged spokesperson of the Ankara chapter of the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) -- are also accused of posting threatening messages on social media.

The arrests came after the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for a total of 12 people.

The police are searching for the remaining suspects, the sources added.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and EU. In its three-decade-plus terror campaign against Turkey, more than 40,000 people have been killed.

Since the group resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, more than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives.