On Sunday evening, two separate blasts took place in the central Besiktas district of Istanbul, as a result of which 27 police officers and two civilians were killed. The blasts occurred near the Vodafone Arena about one hour after a football match finished at the stadium. According to media reports, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
According to the ministry, the police operation was conducted on December 12-13 in 28 out of 81 provinces, including Ankara, Istanbul, Gaziantep, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, Diyarbakir. The detainees are accused of terrorism propaganda via social networks and activities in support of terrorist organizations.
On Monday, Turkish media reported that the police arrested 118 activists of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) as part of the anti-terrorist operation in the wake of the Istanbul attacks.
