UPDATE - 16 PKK suspects arrested by Turkish forces

UPDATES TOTAL ARRESTS; ADDS DETAILS; CHANGES TITLE, DECK

By Jeyhun Aliyev and Yilmaz Kazandioglu

ANKARA (AA) - A total of 16 suspects were arrested Friday over alleged links to the PKK terrorist organization in northwestern and eastern Turkey.

Turkey's northwestern border troops nabbed a terror suspect trying to flee to Greece, according to the National Defense Ministry.

"A person trying to cross from our country to Greece illegally was caught by our border units in Ipsala district of Edirne [province]," the ministry said on Twitter.

"The person, who was previously tried for aiding and abetting the PKK terrorist organization, was handed over to the Ipsala District Gendarme Station," it added.

Fifteen more suspects were arrested in a series of separate simultaneous operations conducted across four provinces and based in the eastern Van province, said a statement by local authorities.

The operations carried out by gendarmerie forces in Van, Sirnak, Ankara and Istanbul sought to uncover the activities of so-called cells of the terror group.

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.