Police detain PKK member who targeted commandos in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Turkish police officers have detained a militant from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who planted explosives under a road in Istanbul targeting specially trained Turkish soldiers.Istanbul Police Department Counterterrorism Unit officers detained the militant identified as Tarık A. in Istanbul’s Beykoz district late Dec. 20 upon intelligence that the militant had planted eight kilograms of explosive material inside a steamer under a road on the route of two service vehicles carrying Turkish Underwater Offence Command (SAT) and Underwater Defence Command (SAS) forces.Tarık A., 22, reportedly buried the steamer full of hand-made explosive material beside Sırmakeş Street in the Dereseki neighborhood and wired the steamer to a forested area.The police officers seized a 7.65-caliber pistol, a knife, wiring materials and a car battery during their search of the suspect. The officers reported the incident to the police department’s bomb inspection and deactivation bureau after they had assured security around the scene.Security sources said Tarık A. had a criminal record and was trained in a PKK camp. The suspect was taken to the Beykoz District Police Department for a health check and then to the Istanbul Police Department Counterterrorism Unit for interrogation.The incident came amid ongoing military operations targeting PKK militants in Turkey’s east and southeast in particular, to clear towns in the region of terrorists.Local governmental bodies have declared multiple curfews in the region to prevent civilian casualties during military operations against PKK militants.The state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that 110 militants had been killed during operations against PKK militants in the southeastern provinces of Şırnak, Diyarbakır and Mardin since Dec. 15.