UPDATE - 49 terror suspects arrested across Turkey

UPDATES NUMBER OF ARRESTS; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS STATEMENT FROM LOCAL POLICE CHIEF

By Yusuf Soykan Bal and Mustafa Gungor

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - At least 49 suspects were arrested on Thursday as part of an operation against terrorist groups across Turkey, according to security sources.

An Izmir-based operation was carried out simultaneously across 12 provinces of Turkey as part of a probe against far-left terror groups such as MLKP, TKP/ML, DSIH as well as YPG/PKK.

Out of the 51 suspects, 49 were arrested during the operations, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

ESP terror group’s co-chair Ozlem Gumustas, former Izmir provincial head Pinar Turk and Kerim Altinmakas, as well as two lawyers, four Izmir municipality personnel were among those arrested.

Anti-terror units seized a number of digital materials, illegal publishing, documents belonging to terror groups and 50,000 Turkish liras (approx. $6,750) during the operations.

Huseyin Askin, the provincial police chief, told reporters that it was a wide-range operation against the terror groups.

"It was a long-term effort against the separatist terrorist [referring to PKK] and far-left groups linked to it. As of now, we have 49 arrests. We had 51 suspects, another 6 people are already in prison for other crimes. Suspects detained in other provinces will be brought to Izmir. It was a successful effort, the process continues," Askin said.

He further noted the operation to find the remaining suspects continues.

The MLKP was founded in 1994 and was added to Turkey's active terror list in 2007.

The terrorist group is responsible for many attacks in Turkey and northern Syria, including the bombing of a public bus in 2004 in Istanbul that killed three civilians.

Founded in 1972 in Turkey, TKP/ML is an outlawed group carrying out illegal activities, as well as armed attacks to establish a Marxist-Leninist rule in the country. It is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey.

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 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.