18 individuals have been detained by Turkish police due to their “praising terrorism” following the recent killing of soldiers, while a senior member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was “neutralised” in northern Iraq, authorities revealed on Monday.
A total of nine Turkish soldiers lost their lives in clashes with the PKK in northern Iraq on Friday, which led to Ankara launching air strikes and carrying out operations in both northern Iraq and northern Syria.
The PKK, known as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, began its armed struggle in 1984 for the rights of ethnic Kurdish people. The Turkish military frequently targets PKK militants who are based in the mountains of northern Iraq.
On social media, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the police have detained 18 people for “praising a terrorist organisation”, “spreading terrorism propaganda,” and “spreading misleading information” about Turkey’s operations in Iraq.
Yerlikaya also mentioned that arrest warrants were issued for 19 individuals in Turkey and 133 abroad, but did not provide any further details.
According to a Turkish security source, the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) “neutralised” Hulya Mercen, a high-level PKK member who had orchestrated several attacks on Turkish troops in the past, in the Metina region of northern Iraq.
The defense ministry further stated that many other PKK militants have been “neutralised” in operations since Friday, a term commonly used to mean killed.
The PKK, which rarely confirms attacks against it, did not immediately respond to the news.
The government announced that schools across Turkey held a minute’s silence on Monday morning as a tribute to the fallen soldiers.
(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever, editing by Burcu Karakas and Andrew Cawthorne)
