Turkish police detains 16 terrorist suspects in east

Ankara, June 11 (Xinhua-ANI): Turkish police detained 16 suspects in terrorism investigation on Monday in the eastern province of Hakkari, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported.

Police from the Hakkari Police Department carried out operations in several locations simultaneously early morning, said the report, adding that the detainees allegedly belong to the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

The investigation into the KCK, an umbrella organization for the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and other affiliated groups, started in December 2009, since when a large number of suspected KCK members and several mayors from the BDP have been detained.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, over 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group. (Xinhua-ANI)