Police detain 297 in anti-terror operations across Turkey : mentre fa finta di combattere ISIL…..
July 24, 2015, Friday/ 10:28:44/ TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH REUTERS / ISTANBUL
Suspected members of ISIL were detained in nationwide anti-terrorism police operations conducted across Turkey early on Friday. (Photo: DHA)
Turkish police launched raids on Friday targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, as well as militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) in 13 provinces across Turkey and detained 297 suspects, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said, vowing that the crackdown will continue.
In a press conference on Friday afternoon, Davutoğlu said the security operations against ISIL, the PKK and the DHKP/C were not a one-time event but were to be comprehensive and would continue.
The prime minister also informed the nation that 297 people had been detained so far in simultaneous raids across the country early on Friday morning, including 37 foreign nationals, and that a large quantity of arms and ammunition was seized during the operations. He also confirmed that one DHKP/C suspect was killed in a gunfight with police in İstanbul during a police raid there.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also commented on the events, speaking to reporters following Friday prayer. The president said that a process had begun with the anti-terror operations and that the operations against terrorists would continue.
“The targets are obvious: ISIL firstly, the separatist terror organization the PKK, the DHKP/C and other organizations… Their names might be different but all of them are terrorist organizations and our government will take the necessary steps that it should take… This night has become an important starting point and the operations will continue,” Erdoğan said.
The president also admitted the existence of a weak security system in the country, saying if armed and masked people can walk freely in the streets of İstanbul, Turkey has a security problem — referring to masked and armed individuals who recently marched in İstanbul’s Gazi neighborhood in a protest against a deadly suicide bomber’s attack on Monday in the country’s Southeast.
The Turkish media reported that 5,000 police officers in İstanbul alone took part in Friday’s operation, which was conducted at 140 locations in 26 districts, including Bağcılar, Başakşehir, Beyoğlu, Eyüp, Güngören, Küçükçekmece, Pendik, Sarıyer and Sultangazi. The raids were backed by helicopters and special operation forces. The CNN Türk website reported that İstanbul police detained 98 people in the city, including 36 foreign nationals and seized six guns and a large number of organizational documents. The suspects were taken to the İstanbul Police Department on Vatan Street following a health screening at Haseki Teaching and Research Hospital.
According to news agencies, during the anti-terror operation in İstanbul’s Bağcılar district, suspects opened fire on the police. A female DHKP/C suspect was reportedly killed during the operation. The suspected DHKP/C member, whose name was reported to be Günay Özaslan, was wanted by police on the suspicion of preparing for a suicide bomb attack.
A total of 14 suspects were also detained as part of the operation in the capital city of Ankara, the Doğan news agency reported. Nine of the suspects were detained on the suspicion of being members of ISIL, and five of them were taken into custody for being members of the PKK’s youth branch, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H).
Police forces in the western province of Bursa also detained 10 people. They are suspected of being members of the YDG-H who allegedly provoked protests in the city by blocking roads in the district of Yıldırım and throwing stones at vehicles, in reaction to the suicide attack in the Syrian border city of Suruç on Monday which claimed 32 lives.
Two people under 18 years of age were also detained in the western province of İzmir’s Menemen district for allegedly planning an attack. Police also seized Molotov cocktails and gasoline cans during the operation. Four others were also taken into custody on the suspicion of leading illegal demonstrations.
Total of 35 PKK suspects detained in southeastern province of Şanlıurfa
In a simultaneous dawn operation conducted at 49 locations, police in Şanlıurfa province detained 35 suspects linked with the PKK, in districts including both Suruç and Ceylanpınar, where two officers were shot and killed earlier this week by the PKK, the Doğan news agency reported.
Five YDG-H suspects were also taken into custody in the eastern province of Elazığ during the operation launched early on Friday. Unregistered guns and organizational documents were also seized by the police.
Anti-terror operations also took place in western province of Kocaeli and the southern province of Adıyman. Eight people were detained in Adıyaman on the suspicion of being ISIL members and then taken to Adıyaman Police Department’s Anti-Terrorism Unit for interrogation following a health examination.
A Turkish non-commissioned officer was killed by ISIL militants shooting from across the Syrian border in the Turkish town of Kilis on Thursday. The PKK also recently launched attacks on the Turkish police, shooting two police officers in the head at their home in Şanlıurfa on Wednesday. The group later claimed responsibility for the two deaths. In addition to the attack on the officers, the group also killed a soldier and injured another on Thursday in the province of Diyarbakır after ambushing them. A non-commissioned officer was killed by PKK militants in the province of Adıyaman on Monday as well.