Police detain 5 PKK suspects in southern Turkey

By Yusuf Koyun

ADANA, Turkey (AA) – Five PKK suspects, including a university student were detained in southern Turkey’s Adana province Tuesday, according to a police source.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, the detained PKK suspects were planning to carry out attacks in Adana, including at a police station and a district governor’s office building.

There were also alleged plans to attack public places using seven car bombs. Police also seized 21 kilograms (46.3 pounds) of explosives material from an empty store in Adana’s Seyhan district, the source added.

Numerous arrests have been carried out across Turkey since a July 2015 suicide bombing which killed dozens of people in Suruc district of Sanliurfa province near the Syrian border.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of numerous civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed in army operations.