Turkey continues domestic operations against ‘terrorist and organized crime syndicates,’ detains dozens

Duvar English

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Oct. 6 announced that police launched gross domestic operations against outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and organized crime syndicates in various provinces and detained dozens of people.

Counter-terrorism police forces organized a simultaneous operation against the ISIS in 26 provinces and detained 92 suspects.

Yerlikaya stated, “I want our beloved nation to know that: Our struggle will continue with determination and resolve until the last terrorist is neutralized.”

Turkey typically uses the term "neutralized" to mean killed.

In operations organized by the police in 11 provinces, 75 people were detained on charges of PKK membership.

After the PKK claimed responsibility for the attack on the Turkish National Police Headquarters within the Interior Ministry compound on Oct. 1, Turkey initiated a series of operations both domestically and abroad.

During the latest operation, the police raided and searched two district offices of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Izmir province.

HDP İzmir provincial co-chairs Vedat Çınar Altan and Berna Çelik and HDP Buca district co-chair Nihat Türk were also detained.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also initiated an investigation into the social media posts following the bomb attack against the Interior Ministry. Within the scope of the investigation, 23 suspects in 14 provinces were detained on the grounds of "making terrorist organization propaganda."

Yerlikaya also said that the police conducted operations against 15 organized crime syndicates in 31 provinces and detained 307 suspects.

The minister also noted that 24 criminal organizations supplying arms to these organizations were also dismantled.

Turkey was recorded as the country with the highest level of organized crime in Europe, according to the 2023 report of the Global Organized Crime Index.

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