Turkish police detain 25 over Antalya explosion

By Suleyman Elcin

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish police detained 25 suspects Saturday over an explosion in the Mediterranean province of Antalya on Friday, police sources told Anadolu Agency.

Police organized simultaneous operations throughout Turkey, including in the capital Ankara as well as Istanbul, to detain the suspects, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking the media.

The 25 suspects, believed to be PKK/KCK members, were detained on the grounds that they were carrying out militia and cooperation activities within the terrorist organization.

After testifying to the province's anti-terror police department, they will reportedly be sent to court.

There were no casualties from the explosion at a fishing port in Antalya’s Konyaalti district, according to the governor's office.

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, more than 700 security force members have been martyred and around 8,000 PKK terrorists killed or apprehended.