Turkey arrests dozens of suspected IS and Kurdish PKK militants
Turkish police have arrested dozens of suspected ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and Kurdish militants during early morning raids in Ankara. Shelling on the Turkish-Syrian border has continued into the start of the new week.
Some 500 officers swept through the capital’s district of Haci Bayram in central Turkey on Monday where they detained 15 IS suspects, 11 of whom were foreign, pro-government daily “Yeni Safak” reported.
Similar operations were also led in the southeastern city of Adiyaman, where 19 people with alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were also taken into custody.
According to broadcaster “CNN Turk,” more than 800 suspected IS and PKK members have been detained over the past week.
Continued shelling
The arrests on Monday came as Turkey continued to fire at IS positions inside Syria. The sudden increase in military activity follows Friday’s attack by a suspected IS suicide bomber, close to the Syrian border. Thirty-two people died in the blast.
Turkey calls NATO summit amid air strikes
In response to the attack, Turkey made somewhat of a diplomatic u-turn and joined the US-led coalition in the fight against IS by firing at Syrian-based targets and granting allied forces access to its air bases.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday, however, that no Turkish ground troops would be committed to Syria.
Intergovernmental military alliance NATO announced on Monday that it’s decison-making body, the North Atlantic Council, would convene on Tuesday to discuss threats to Turkey’s security.
‘Meaningless’ peace process
Turkish fighter jets and ground forces have also hit PKK camps in northern Iraq and the Syrian Kurdish YPG in northern Syria since Friday, despite the group’s coordination with the US in operations to combat IS.
The PKK said on Monday that Turkey’s offensive against the organization has rendered the ongoing peace process meaningless. Turkey launched negotiations with the rebels in 2012 in a bid to end a 30-year insurgency.
ksb/jil (Reuters, AP, AFP)
