Berlin mosque vandalized by PYD/PKK supporters

BERLIN (AA) - A mosque in Germany’s capital was vandalized overnight Thursday, allegedly by supporters of the PYD/PKK terror organization, according to mosque officials.

The assailants wrote slogans on the windows of the Mescid-i Aksa mosque, run by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) association.

The windows of the mosque were painted in yellow, red and green, the colors used by the terrorist organization for their rags.

The PYD/PKK group and far-left organizations have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks since Jan. 20 to protest against Turkey’s counterterrorism operation in northwestern Syria.

The PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993, but it remains active, with nearly 14,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population in the country.

Ankara has long criticized Berlin for not taking serious measures against the PKK and its Syrian branch PYD, which use the country as a platform for their fund-raising, recruitment, and propaganda activities.

Germany has a 3 million-strong Turkish community, many of whom are second- and third-generation German-born citizens whose Turkish grandparents moved to the country during the 1960s.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear terrorist groups from Afrin in northwestern Syria amid growing threats posed from the region.