Turkey: Sweeping arrests of suspects in terror plot

By Omer Yildiz, Safak Yel and Halil Demir

ADANA/IZMIR/ISTANBUL,Turkey (AA) - At least 94 PKK suspects have been arrested across Turkey during counter-terror operations, a security source said Friday.

In southern Adana province, counter-terrorism police arrested 47 suspects, including five women and 10 children, during simultaneous operations at 73 separate locations, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

In another operation in western Izmir province counter-terrorism police arrested 36 PKK suspects. Seperately in Istanbul, police arrested 11 PKK suspects.

The suspects were preparing for a terrorist attack with arms, molotov cocktails, and improvised explosives following a call by the PKK terror group ahead of the March 21 spring festival of Nevruz.

Police is on the lookout for more suspects, the source added.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, causing nearly 40,000 deaths.

More than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children, have been killed since July 2015 alone, when the group resumed its armed campaign against the country.