2015 police raids in Turkey

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2015 police raids in Turkey
Part of the
DHKP/C
Date24 July 2015 (2015-07-24)
3:00 (EEST)
Executed byGeneral Directorate of Security KDGM
Outcome3,768 suspected terrorists detained[citation needed]
981 terrorists arrested[citation needed]
Casualties1 suspect killed during a police raid in Istanbul

The 2015 police raids in Turkey (24 July 2015) were a series of

Ceylanpınar incidents saw the assassination of 2 policemen by operatives of disputed affiliation, attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and became the Casus belli
for Turkey operations in both Turkey and Iraq.

The operations began at around 3 am

Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DKHP/C). By midday on 25 July 2015, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stated that 590 suspects had been arrested.[1]

Background

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Main article:
Turkey–ISIL conflict

Turkey had maintained a policy of inaction against the

killed in a suicide bombing in Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province. The perpetrator was identified as a member of the Dokumacılar, a terrorist group linked to ISIL. On 23 July, ISIL militants and Turkish soldiers clashed near the Turkish border town of Elbeyli, with the Turkish Air Force
subsequently beginning an airstrike against ISIL positions across the border.

Kurdish separatists

See also:
Ceylanpınar incidents

Since 2013, a largely successful

were killed, with the PKK allegedly taking responsibility and claiming that the attack was in revenge for the Suruç bombing where they claimed that Turkish government is cooperating with ISIS.[4][5] On 23 July, pro-government media claimed that PKK gunmen called local police, falsely reporting a traffic accident, and opened fired on the two traffic police officers, killing one and seriously injuring the other.[6] On 24 July, PKK kidnapped one police officer in Diyarbakır and injured two in Hakkari[7]

Counter-terrorism raids

23 July Security meeting

In response to recent developments, Prime Minister

Turkish-Syrian border.[8]

Conduct

The operations began in the early hours of 24 July 2015, with Davutoğlu claiming that they were directed at ISIL, PKK, DKHP/C and other militant left-wing organisations that threatened public order in Turkey. Raids were conducted in 13 Provinces in Turkey, rising to 16 by midday. Over 10,000 police officers were involved in what was branded as a 'giant operation against terror', with 5,000 of these officers deployed in Istanbul alone. 26 different districts of Istanbul were involved in the raids.[9]

Arrests

In a press statement at around 14:00 local time on 24 July, Davutoğlu claimed that 297 suspects had been arrested.[10] 37 arrests had been made in Ceylanpınar in relation to the killing of two police officers in the district by the PKK, while 19 other arrests in relation to the deaths were made in Diyarbakır.[11] 37 of those arrested were foreign, while 103 of the 297 arrests had been made in Istanbul alone, with large numbers of firearms also being impounded upon during the police raids.[9]

On 25 July, Davutoğlu stated that 590 suspects had been arrested in the 2 days.[1]

Istanbul

Counter-terrorism forces, consisting of over 2,000 riot police and 3,000 other officers, conducted raids in 26 different districts in

suicide bombing.[12] The firearms used in the attack were impounded by the officers.[13] Overall, 6 firearms and numerous documents had been impounded in raids across Istanbul.[14]

On 25 July, operations conducted with the aid of police helicopters resulted in several arrests in the district of Beyoğlu.[15]

Ankara

Counter-terrorism raids were conducted in 12 different sites across

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[16] 2 PKK youth members were arrested in the Yenimahalle district on 25 July. Among those arrested was the alleged head of the Ankara branch of PKK.[17]

İzmir

In response to a warning made in the district of

forest fire on behalf of a terrorist organisation. In another operation in central İzmir, four suspects were taken into custody for participating in illegal demonstrations on behalf of a terrorist organisation.[18]
On 25 July, numerous documents and evidence was confiscated during operations against the YGD/H.

Şanlıurfa

In

the bombings in the district of Suruç by ISIL resulted in the death of 32 youth activists, 49 different addresses linked to the PKK were raided, with a total of 35 arrests being made. It was later claimed separately by Davutoğlu that 39 PKK suspects had been arrested in Ceylanpınar alone for alleged links to the killing of two police officers in the district on 22 July.[19] On 25 July, police officers in Ceylanpınar, Suruç and Birecik
arrested 20 suspects who were allegedly members of the PKK.

Bursa

In Bursa, operations conducted on suspected members of the PKK's youth establishment YDG-H (Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement) resulted in the arrests of 9 suspects. Police in Bursa also began investigations into individuals who had participated previously in violent rioting and forcing children to take part in such rioting as well. The arrests were made in Bursa's Yıldırım district.[20] 7 more suspects were arrested on 25 July.

Iğdır

The Iğdır Provincial Directorate of Security began operations in the early hours of 24 July at different addresses, with 9 suspects being arrested on charges of spreading propaganda for the PKK. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Member of Parliament for Iğdır, Mehmet Emin, stated that the co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Iğdır branch, Zübeyde Kaynar, the co-chair of the HDP Iğdır branch Dilber Turan and former DBP Mayor of Iğdır Hüseyin Malk were among those arrested. Former Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) councillor Oğuz Ok was also among those arrested.[21]

Antalya

In Antalya, two suspects thought to be members of the PKK were arrested. Since one of the suspects was under the age of 18, the suspect was required to give their witness statement to the Children's Department of the Directorate of Security.[22]

Elazığ

In operations taking place in Elazığ, five suspects who were allegedly part of the PKK's youth organisation were arrested. The police officers taking party in the operations also confiscated two unlicensed firearms and numerous organisation-related documents.[23]

Bitlis

In

Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), namely the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG/H), resulted in the arrests of 8 people.[24]

Adana

The

Provincial Gendarmerie also arrested 10 suspects in the Yakapınar neighbourhood, located in the metropolitan district of Yüreğir. 3 other suspects were arrested in the Dağlıoğlu neighbourhood.[25]
The number of arrests rose to 54 on 25 July.

Mersin

In Mersin, the Directorate of Security launched operations against suspected PKK members who had participated in unlicensed protests and had opened fire against security forces. 21 suspects were arrested, with 190 hunting rifles being filed. 10 bullets were also confiscated.[26]

Şırnak

On 25 July, police officers in the

Gendarmerie
arrested 5 other members thought to be part of the PKK.

Konya

On 25 July, police officers in Konya, around 300 officers participated in numerous operations against ISIL targets, detaining three and arresting 16 suspects. One suspect was thought to be a suicide bomber from ISIL and was identified as one of the three suicide bombers that had allegedly been sent to Turkey by ISIL to conduct terrorist attacks.[27]

Bingöl

In Bingöl, 9 suspects who were thought to have links with the PKK were arrested. The Governor of Bingöl, Yavuz Selim Köşger claimed that 7 of those arrested had been caught in the central district of Bingöl, while the remaining two had been arrested in the provincial districts of Karlıova and Solhan.[28]

Reactions

The Peoples' Democratic Party issued a statement saying that it was "unacceptable to integrate a struggle against the Kurdish people into a struggle against ISIL" and that "military operations, bombings and political arrests must stop immediately." The party claimed that Turkey was being thrust into "a process with no clear end".[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b DHA - A.A. - İHA (25 July 2015). "22 ilde terör operasyonu". Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Officer killed, 2 soldiers injured by PKK in Adıyaman". Today's Zaman. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. ^ ADIYAMAN (DHA) - A.A (21 July 2015). "Adıyaman'da çatışma: 1 şehit, 2 yaralı". HÜRRİYET - TÜRKİYE'NİN AÇILIŞ SAYFASI.
  4. ^ "PKK claims murder of Turkish police to avenge 'IS bombing'". Yahoo News. 23 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Hain saldırıyı PKK üstlendi". milliyet.com.tr. 22 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Militants kill Turkish police officer in southeast Turkey". TRT. 23 July 2015.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "PKK kidnaps police officer in Diyarbakır". TRT. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015.
  8. ^ "IŞİD ve PKK'ya Operasyonlar: 251 Gözaltı". Amerika'nin Sesi - Voice of America - Turkish. 24 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Teröre karşı dev operasyon... Çatışma çıktı, 1 ölü var". milliyet.com.tr. 24 July 2015.
  10. ^ Anadolu Ajansı (c) 2011. "'16 ilde 297 kişi gözaltına alındı'". aa.com.tr.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Davutoğlu: 'Yüzde yüz isabetle ortadan kaldırıldı'". HÜRRİYET - TÜRKİYE'NİN AÇILIŞ SAYFASI. 24 July 2015.
  12. ^ "Türkiye'de dev terör operasyonu". Sabah. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Bağcılar'da canlı bomba ölü ele geçirildi". Haber7. 30 September 2014.
  14. ^ "İstanbul'da 5 bin polisle dev terör operasyonu!". www.haberturk.com. 24 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Terör operasyonları devam ediyor". MİLLİYET HABER - TÜRKİYE'NİN HABER SİTESİ. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Ankara'da terör operasyonu: 14 gözaltı". Gerçek Gündem. Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  17. ^ "PKK/YDG-H örgütünün Ankara sorumlusu yakalandı" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  18. ^ "İzmir'de terör örgütü operasyonu". Haber7. 30 September 2014.
  19. ^ "sanliurfa teror operasyonu - Google Search". google.com.
  20. ^ "Bursa'da terör örgütü operasyonu". Radikal. 24 July 2015.
  21. ^ "Iğdır'daki terör operasyonu". Haber7. 30 September 2014.
  22. ^ "Antalya'da terör örgütü operasyonu". Haber7. 30 September 2014.
  23. ^ "Elazığ'da terör operasyonu: 5 gözaltı - Elazığ Kanal 23 Haber". kanal23.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  24. ^ "Bitlis'te PKK operasyonu". Gerçek Gündem. Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  25. ^ "Mersin ve Adana'da terör operasyonu". sozcu.com.tr. 24 July 2015.
  26. ^ "Mersin". milliyet.com.tr. 24 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Konya'da IŞİD'e canlı bomba operasyonu!". İnternethaber.com. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  28. ^ "Bingöl'de terör örgütü operasyonu". Haber7. 30 September 2014.
  29. ^ "HDP'den operasyon açıklaması" (in Turkish). NTV. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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