Kurdish rebellions in Turkey

A German court sentenced five defendants up to four years and three months in prison on April 30 for being members of the PKK terror organization.

Thwarting what could have been a deadly attack on civilians, Turkish security forces on April 28 caught two PKK terrorists after they planted explosives under a vehicle at an Istanbul bus station, according to Turkey's interior minister.

Turkey will ask French officials to find perpetrators of recent attacks on the Turkish community by PKK supporters, diplomatic sources said on April 9. 

Turkey's Ambassador to Paris Ali Onaner will meet French officials and also request that France provide better protection for the community, according to Turkish diplomatic sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Turkey has summoned Iran's ambassador to Ankara, Mohammed Farazmand, over the remarks by the Iranian envoy in Baghdad, who harshly slammed Turkey's anti-terror operations in the territories of Iraq.

Turkey's presidential spokesperson on Feb. 23 condemned a statement by the European Union's lead spokesperson for external affairs over the EU's support for a Turkish opposition party.

Turkey launched an operation early on Feb. 22 against the PKK terrorist organization in southeastern Mardin province.

The city governorate announced that the anti-terror operation will take place in a total of 18 neighborhoods in the towns of Mazıdağı, Derik and Kızıltepe.

Turkey told Washington's envoy it took the "strongest" exception to a U.S. statement on the massacre of 13 Turkish citizens over the weekend, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

"Today, U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield was summoned to our ministry, and our reaction to the statement by the US was voiced in the strongest terms," said a ministry statement on Feb. 15. 

Turkish riot police. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

The Interior Ministry said on February 15 in a written statement: "718 people including the presidents of HDP district and city branches were detained as part of operations against the PKK's operations in the country. Detentions are still underway."

Turkish security forces detained a total of 718 suspects over alleged links to the terrorist group PKK, the Interior Ministry announced on Feb. 15.

According to a ministry statement, counter-terrorism units of the Security Directorate and Gendarmerie Command carried out operations across 40 of Turkey's 81 provinces to expose the activities of the terrorist PKK.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States on Monday of supporting Kurdish militants who Ankara says executed 13 kidnapped Turks in northern Iraq, adding that a US statement of condemnation was a "a joke."