Mayor linked to terror probe detained in eastern Turkey

By Zekeriya Gunes

SIIRT, Turkey (AA) - Police detained the mayor of eastern Siirt province early Wednesday as part of a terrorism-linked probe, according to a police source.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media, the arrest of Siirt Mayor Tuncer Bakirhan, who belongs to the Democratic Regions Party -- a sister party of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) -- came after Siirt public prosecutor's office issued a warrant as part of an investigation into the PKK terrorist group.

Police continues to search Bakirhan's home and his municipality office, the source said.

In late October, Diyarbakir Mayor Gulten Kisanak who is also a member of the pro-PKK Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Firat Anli, her co-mayor and a city council member, were remanded in custody as part of an investigation into terrorism.

The Chief Prosecutor's Office in Diyarbakir had said Kisanak was arrested for being a member of an armed terrorist group.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.

Since then, PKK terrorists have martyred nearly 800 members of security forces and claimed the lives of over 310 civilians, including women and children, while more than 10,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended in army operations.