ISTANBUL, 9 April 2006 — Turkish security forces killed six Kurdish guerrillas, security officials said yesterday, while the suspected perpetrator of a resort bombing was arrested as he planned a new attack, the Anatolian news agency reported. The helicopter-backed operation near the Iraqi border against members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) comes amid an escalation of bombings in Turkey and after the worst civil unrest in the mainly Kurdish southeast for more than a decade.
State-run news agency Anatolia said the suspected perpetrator of a bus bombing at the tourist resort town of Kusadasi last July was caught in the southeastern city of Elazig. At the time, newspapers said the attack was claimed by the Kurdistan Liberation Hawks (TAK), a group formed by former PKK guerrillas which has claimed recent attacks in Istanbul.
The bomber had fled to Iraq after the attack — which killed five people — but returned to take explosives to militants in Istanbul, the agency reported. Turkey has repeatedly called on the United States to deal with Kurdish guerrillas from Turkey sheltering in northern Iraq. Seven other people who were carrying explosives were also arrested in Istanbul, the agency said, adding to 11 people with explosives reported to have been seized on Friday.
Police said the arrest followed a nine-month pursuit in which the man, identified only as M.S.F., traveled to northern Iraq for training at PKK camps. He was said to be preparing for another attack in Turkey. The bombing in Kusadasi in 2005 blew apart a minibus packed with tourists, killing five people and injuring 13 others. Most of the victims were Turkish, but a British woman and an Irish teenager on vacation were among those killed. Police took the man first to Istanbul, then to Izmir on the Aegean for detention and questioning, Anatolia said.
A wave of Kurdish-related violence has swept across Turkey in the past two weeks. The funerals of 14 Kurdish guerrillas killed by Turkish troops two weeks ago sparked the worst violence in decades between security forces and Kurdish protesters, which led to the deaths of 16 people. Much of the country remains on edge as militants have vowed revenge.
Anatolia yesterday reported that Turkish commandos backed by attack helicopters tracked down and killed six more PKK guerrillas they said were responsible for the recent deaths of five Turkish soldiers. Also yesterday, a land mine in the eastern town of Elazig exploded on a road as a military vehicle passed, wounding at least two soldiers, local officials said. Military helicopters were dispatched immediately to the blast site.
Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the PKK a terrorist organization, but funerals for its guerrillas frequently turn into rallies against the Turkish state. Two other PKK guerrillas escaped during the clash late Friday night, Anatolia reported. The Turkish Army has stepped up operations in the southeast following the week of rioting, bombings and increased militant attacks on Turkish security forces.
