At least 12 people were arrested in Istanbul on Friday for suspected links with the PKK terrorist organization, according to a police source.
Counter-terrorism police teams made the arrests during an operation in 11 districts of the port city that targeted suspects who allegedly received training at the terror organization’s camps in Europe.
In total, police sought 18 suspects who allegedly arrived in Istanbul with plans to carry out terror attacks in the city.
The suspects who were arrested were taken to police headquarters and were booked for extorting money from shopkeepers in the city, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.