Security forces destroy PKK hideouts in 8 cities
SECURITY forces have destroyed some 82 hideouts of the PKK terrorist group across eight Turkish provinces in ongoing counterterrorism operations, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced yesterday.
A task force of some 4,283 security personnel in 338 teams, including gendarmerie special forces, commandos and rangers, raided PKK targets in southern and eastern provinces, from Şırnak to Hatay, Mardin to Bitlis, in an air-backed operation, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.
The task force raided caves, bunkers and hideouts in the rural regions of Hozat, Nazımiye, Beytüşşebap, Silopi, İdil, Cizre, Genç, Dargeçit, Lice, Dicle, Tatvan, Eruh and Hassa of these provinces.
They seized 206 kilograms (454 pounds) of ammonium nitrate and C4 explosives,
RPG-7 rocket launchers, seven rifles, 859 kinds of ammunition, nine pump rifles, two RPG-7 anti-tank ammunition, seven hand grenades, 24 cartridge clips, 17 radio sets, 70 gas cylinders, 13 car batteries, 461 batteries, as well as countless organization documents, kitchen and medical supplies, Yerlikaya informed.
“The terrorists were preparing these hideouts to use as logistics bases during the winter months and to support their activities,” the minister noted.
The operation is part of efforts to eliminate the PKK’s presence within Turkish borders, in tandem with Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against the terrorist group’s members holed up with Türkiye’s neighbors close to its border.
Although its activities are significantly reduced within Turkish territories, the PKK finds shelter in mountainous areas where members hide out in winter and store munitions and survival kits.
Turkish security forces eliminated a total of 9,234 terrorists in 2023, including members of the PKK, as well as other groups like Daesh, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and leftist organizations.
Following a lull from 2017 onward, Türkiye suffered two bomb attacks in recent years, one that killed six and injured 81 others in Istanbul’s İstiklal Street in November 2022 and another in front of the Turkish police headquarters in the capital Ankara, which only injured two officers, in October 2023.
In late December and early January, Türkiye also lost 21 soldiers to two separate PKK attacks on its bases in northern Iraq.