Huge PKK ammunition cache discovered after bear digs up soil in northern Turkey

TRABZON

Security forces seized a large amount of ammunition believed to belong to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Black Sea province of Trabzon on Dec. 5 after a bear dug up soil, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Locals in a rural area of the Tonya district alerted the gendarmerie after they discovered ammunition scattered across forested land. The gendarmerie subsequently seized explosives, hand grenades, bullets and remote bombing devices from inside a shelter.

Tantalized by the scent of food coming from below, a bear had dug up the earth and scattered the ammunition while searching for the food.

Among the ammunition items seized were three kilograms of plastic explosives, four remote electric fuses, a number of rifles and bullets, four hand grenades, two handsets and a large amount of survival supplies.

Reports said the shelter was prepared around two weeks ago, with the food not buried too deep in order to prevent it from decaying.

Turkey’s intelligence agencies recently voiced concerns that the PKK was preparing “sensational attacks” in the Black Sea region, with 21 militants believed to have been ordered to carry out attacks in two separate regions.

The militants dug shelters to store food and ammunition following intense security operations in the region, while locals were determined not to store food in rural houses, according to reports.

Security units, which included special police forces, were also deployed to the district from the neighboring province of Giresun in order to provide extra support.

In addition, security forces seized a number of ammunition and weapons, including two Kalashnikov rifles and five hand-grenades, in operations in the Varto district of the eastern province of Muş, the governor’s office stated on Dec. 6.

In a separate operation on Dec. 6 in the Silopi district of the southeastern province of Şırnak, gendarmerie forces raided a shop reportedly being prepared for use as a “call center” to allow PKK militants to coordinate for possible attacks. Technical equipment was also seized during the raid.

Police also detained 32 suspects on Dec. 6 in six provinces across the country. The detainees were suspected of aiding two PKK members caught as they prepared for an attack in the southern province of Adana on Nov. 27.

The suspects were subsequently referred to court for arrest.