In Turkey

A PKK member who helped Bilal Hassan escape abroad, one of the suspects of the terror attack on Istanbul's İstiklal Avenue last November, which claimed the lives of six people and wounded several dozen, has been caught in Bulgaria.

As the recent dialogue between Türkiye, Russia and Syria yields results, the number of Syrian refugees returning to their homeland will increase, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Jan. 11.

"As the security environment in northern Syria improves, the return of Syrians to their homes is accelerating," Erdoğan said at the International Ombudsman Conference.

An Istanbul court has released the head of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), who was detained after calling for an investigation into allegations that the Turkish military used chemical weapons in northern Iraq.

A suspect of involvement in the terrorist attack in Istanbul's Taksim district has been extradited from Bulgaria to Turkey, announced the Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu.

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is the political wing of the PKK terror organization and it is well known by the entire country, the chief prosecutor has claimed, reiterating his demand from the top court for the permanent prohibition of the HDP.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday a two-state solution for Cyprus is not an option and Germany will continue to push for a de-escalation of tensions on the island.

Turkey's highest court on Thursday ordered a temporary freeze on the funds of the country's pro-Kurdish party as it mulls whether to disband it over accusations of links to Kurdish militants.

Some 40 ISIL members have been detained in the operations against the terrorist organization carried out in the capital Ankara and the northwestern province of Bursa.

The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has brought Burhan Piçak, who was leading PKK/KCK's "assassination unit," to Türkiye in the operation carried out in northern Iraq.

Piçak, code-named Canşer/Laşer, was determined to cross into Syria from the southeastern province of Diyarbakır's Lice district in 2015 and join the PKK.

Arriving at Istanbul Airport with a fake ID from Iran, PKK terrorist Serhat Özel, known as the "arsenal" of the organization, has been captured at the passport control point.

Code-named Kendal Numan Amed, Özel arrived at Istanbul Airport on a plane departing from Iran's Tehran on Oct. 14.