Turkiye detains 98 suspects over alleged Kurdish militant links

Turkish police on Monday detained 98 suspects over alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK militant group, most of them on a charge of spreading PKK propaganda on social media, the Interior Ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said the suspects were detained in simultaneous operations across 18 provinces, with most of the detentions being in southeastern regions.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by the EU, US, and Turkiye, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Ankara frequently carries out cross-border airstrikes and operations against the PKK, which has bases in the mountains of northern Iraq.

It also regularly conducts operations against people linked to it domestically.

In recent weeks, Turkiye has intensified attacks on Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq, as well as against its members in the country, after militants detonated a bomb near government buildings in Ankara on Oct. 1.

Separately, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social messaging platform X that authorities had destroyed 63 shelters, caves, and storage units used by PKK militants in six provinces.