UPDATE 2 - Turkish security forces arrest 77 PKK terror suspects

UPDATES WITH OPERATIONS IN KOCAELI, MERSIN, MUS, ADANA, BALIKESIR PROVINCES; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Halil Demir, Serdar Acil, and Cemil Murat Budak

ISTANBUL/ANKARA/ADANA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces arrested 77 suspects, including members of an opposition party, as part of operations against the PKK terror group across the country, security sources said Friday.

Anti-terror police in Istanbul launched simultaneous operations in four districts to nab 15 suspects who were sought with warrants for carrying out activities on behalf of the PKK, said the source, on condition of anonymity.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs of Kagithane district and a co-chair of Besiktas district were arrested during the operation, the source said.

Ten of the suspects were arrested, while the hunt for the remaining five suspects continues, the source added.

Some organizational documents and digital materials were also seized.

Turkey's top prosecutor filed an indictment against the HDP on Wednesday seeking the closure of the party, which is accused of violating the Constitution and democratic principles and having ties with the PKK terror group.

Separately, anti-terror police in the southern Adana province launched another operation against the PKK terror group, according to a security source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Eight people who allegedly took part in the terror organization's illegal demonstrations and seven others suspected of spreading terrorist propaganda on social media were arrested with the help of special operations police.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara also sought the arrest of 12 people suspected of links with the PKK as part of a probe against the terror group, according to the prosecutor's office in the capital.

The suspects, including former HDP district heads, were thought to be in preparation of a demonstration in the city in line with calls and instructions on websites linked to the terror group, it said.

Ten of them were nabbed by police teams and the operation is ongoing to arrest the remaining suspects.

Meanwhile, in the northwestern Kocaeli province, 10 others, including a district head of HDP, were nabbed over suspected links to the PKK terror group.

Police teams in the city raided addresses of the suspects, who are said to be spreading terrorist propaganda, as part of efforts to reveal and prevent the terrorists’ activities, said a security source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Unlicensed guns, a pump rifle, 42 cartridges, many digital materials, and banned broadcasts were seized during the operation, the source said.

In the southern Mersin province, the gendarmerie teams arrested 14 suspects in an operation against the PKK/KCK terror group, according to the provincial gendarmerie command.

It said the suspects were in preparation of terrorist activities before Nowruz -- which marks the first day of spring -- in various districts of the province.

Digital materials and documents were also seized during the operation.

Arrest warrants were issued in eastern Mus province for 15 suspects as part of a probe against the PKK terror group.

An operation was launched to nab the suspects who were learned to be active in a so-called village commission -- formed by the instructions of the PKK/KCK terror group -- and releasing press statements including terror propaganda.

In the southern Adana province, gendarmerie forces arrested four suspects over links to the PKK/KCK terror group, according to a security source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The suspects include two foreign nationals, added the source.

In another operation based in the northwestern Balikesir province and carried out across five other provinces, 14 suspects were nabbed for providing financial support to the PKK terrorists.

A gun and many organizational documents were seized during the operation.

In its more than 35-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 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar and Sena Guler in Ankara