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Turkey on Saturday captured two key suspected terrorists in Denmark and Spain, both wanted under Interpol red notices, security sources said on Saturday.
A suspect identified by the initials C.C., the terrorist PKK’s so-called top representative in Scandinavia, was captured in Denmark to be extradited to Turkey, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The suspect, wanted by Turkey for being a member of the terrorist group PKK/KCK, has been sought by the Turkish Security Directorate General's Interpol-Europol Department in 192 countries. Security forces began an operation to apprehend him after learning he was planning to travel from Germany to Denmark, the source added.
The Istanbul Police Department’s Counter-Terrorism Unit conducted simultaneous raids in the Bağcılar district of Turkey’s Istanbul, and detained nine suspects linked to Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), which is the militant youth wing of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).Digital material and documents related to the terror group were also seized in the operations. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.The suspects were plotting a terror attack ahead of the second anniversary of Turkey’s July 15 failed coup attempt.A total of 250 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured in the July 15 failed coup which was perpetrated by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), led by ringleader Fetullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.
Police detain nine terror suspects ahead of July 15 anniversary
The suspect is also accused of going to terrorist camps in northern Iraq.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.
Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.
Separately, a suspected member of the far-left terrorist DHKP-C also wanted under an Interpol red notice was arrested in Spain.
Six terrorists were “neutralized” during Turkish airstrikes Friday in northern Iraq, according to the military.Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.The airstrikes were carried out in northern Iraq's Zap and Gara regions, the Turkish army said in a statement Saturday morning.The Turkish General Staff did not specify the terror groups involved, but Turkey is embroiled in a long-running struggle against the terrorist group PKK in the area."The terrorists were planning an attack on security forces. Counter-terrorism operations are ongoing in the area," statement added.The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.Turkish army neutralizes 76 terrorists over past weekTurkish army conducts 13th round of patrols in Manbij
Turkish army 'neutralizes' six terrorists in north Iraq
The suspect, identified by the initials S.G., is a suspect in the 1997 killing of seven civilians in the village of Ulukale in Turkey’s eastern province of Tunceli.
The DHKP-C is responsible for a number of terror attacks in Turkey, including the 2013 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, which left a Turkish security guard martyred and a Turkish journalist injured.
The extreme-left group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union.