UPDATE 2 - Over 500 suspects held in Turkish anti-PKK operations

UPDATES NUMBER OF DETENTIONS IN MORE PROVINCES, EDITS THROUGHOUT STORY

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - Police detained a total of 544 suspects linked to the terrorist PKK organization across Turkey in coordinated operations early Monday, according to data from police reports compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Separate police operations were conducted across 25 provinces: Istanbul, Izmir, Sirnak, Aydin, Bursa, Sanliurfa, Kocaeli, Corum, Antalya, Edirne, Malatya, Mersin, Hakkari, Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin, Bingol, Siirt, Van, Adana, Adiyaman, Erzincan, Mus, Sivas, and Gaziantep.

In Istanbul, the police’s anti-terror branch held 70 people in simultaneous police operations in 104 different locations in the port city.

A rifle, pistol, blank firing gun, bullets, and PKK documents were also seized, including digital equipment.

Police said operations remain underway to find 34 other suspects.

In the Aegean province of Izmir, 40 suspects were held in police operations in 50 different locations.

In the raids, anti-terror squads apprehended 26 suspects in the south-central Adana province, 60 in the southern Mersin province, 11 in the eastern Van province, 12 in the Mediterranean Antalya province, 24 in the eastern Malatya province, 10 in the Aegean province of Aydin, and 26 in the western Bursa province.

Police also held 94 suspects in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin, and Siirt and in the eastern Bingol province.

In Edirne, an alleged executive of the PKK detained at the Greek border while trying to escape abroad was remanded in custody.

More than 1,200 victims, including security personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.