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Turkish Forces Detain 44 PKK Militants, Including Istanbul Terror Act Organizer

© REUTERS / Tumay BerkinSecurity forces loyal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan guard the General Staff headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, July 17, 2016.
Security forces loyal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan guard the General Staff headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, July 17, 2016. - Sputnik International
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Turkish security forces and intelligence have detained 44 fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey, including the organizer of the 2016 Vodafone Arena terror attack in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the city's governor, Vasip Sahin, said Thursday.

Turkish special force police officers patrol streets after a car bomb exploded near the stadium of football club Besiktas in Istanbul on December 10, 2016 - Sputnik International
Turkish Police Detain Some 120 Members of HDP Party After Deadly Istanbul Blast
ANKARA (Sputnik) – Tensions between Ankara and the Kurdish pro-independence PKK escalated in 2015, after a three-year ceasefire between the two sides collapsed over a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members. This prompted Ankara to launch a military operation in Kurdish-dominated, southeastern regions.

"The operation carried out in four country’s provinces resulted in detention of 44 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. It was determined that one of them masterminded the blasts near the Besiktas stadium [Vodafon Arena], he left the car loaded with explosives which blasted in a minute," Sahin told the CNN Turk broadcaster.

On December 10, two bombs exploded near the Vodafone Arena Stadium in the Turkish city of Istanbul, killing 44 people, including 38 police officers. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a militant group considered by Ankara as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), claimed responsibility for the deadly bombings.

© AFP 2023 / YASIN AKGUL Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C), leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), lays flowers at the scene of December 10 blasts outside the Vodafone Arena football stadium on December 14, 2016 in Istanbul
Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C), leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), lays flowers at the scene of December 10 blasts outside the Vodafone Arena football stadium on December 14, 2016 in Istanbul - Sputnik International
Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C), leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), lays flowers at the scene of December 10 blasts outside the Vodafone Arena football stadium on December 14, 2016 in Istanbul

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