Turkey arrested 11 PKK suspects over Al-Bab blast

By Firat Ozdemir

GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AA) - Security forces in northern Syria on Tuesday arrested 11 PKK terror suspects over an alleged car bombing in November.

The operation came in the wake of the explosion in the town of al-Bab, where two local law enforcement personnel were among the six victims who were killed, while a total of 19 people were injured, according to provincial officials in Turkey's southeastern province of Gaziantep, which provides consultancy services for authorities in the Syrian town.

Efforts are underway to arrest nine remaining suspects, it added.

The terrorists are thought to have detonated an explosive-laden vehicle in al-Bab on Nov. 24, causing multiple casualties, according to Anadolu Agency reporters on the ground.

The YPG/PKK terror group, attacking from Syria's adjacent Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions, often targets Jarabulus, Azaz, Afrin and al-Bab.

Turkish troops and the Syrian National Army liberated al-Bab from the Daesh/ISIS terror group in February 2017 as part of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield.

The seven-month operation was launched in August 2016 to eliminate terrorists hiding out in areas along the Turkish border.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin