Turkey Arrests 2,554 Fugitives After Militant Kurdish Suicide Bomb Attack In Ankara

Vehicles used by suicide bombers in Ankara. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA/Ymen's

JAKARTA - Turkish authorities have arrested about 2,554 fugitives as part of a national counter-terrorism operation launched after the Kurdish militant suicide bombing in Ankara, Home Affairs Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

In his post on social media X, Yerlikaya said the fugitives were arrested as part of a national initiative dubbed "Operation Heroes".

"We will not allow fugitive criminals to roam our streets. We are determined to arrest and hand them over to court," he said, without specifying which group was arrested.

Yerylikaya added that the authorities have been looking for 12 fugitives among those arrested for more than 10 years. Meanwhile 91 people have been wanted for 5-10 years, and 2,451 others for less than five years.

Sunday evening, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said the military had launched a new airstrike against Kurdish militants in northern Syria and destroyed six targets, including shelters and storage facilities believed to be militant locations, as well as oil facilities used by them.

Dalam sebuah pernyataan, kementerian juga mengatakan banyak militan telah "dinetralkan" dalam serangan yang dilakukan pada pukul 19.00, namun tidak menyebutkan wilayah mana di Syria yang mereka serangan. Ankara biasanya menggunakan term "dinetralkan" yang berarti dibunuhkan.

Turkey, which has carried out several attacks on northern Syria against the YPG, said ground operations to Syria were one of the options to consider.

The YPG is also the heart of the SDF forces in the US-led coalition against ISIS militants. US support for them has long raised tensions with Ankara.

Last week, Turkey said all matters related to the banned militia of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia were "legitimate targets" for its troops, after the PKK claimed responsibility for the bombing in Ankara that killed two attackers and injured two police officers.

Ankara said the attackers came from Syria. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the YPG militias Turkey considers a terrorist organization affiliated with the PKK, denied this.

The United States and the European Union themselves consider PKK a terrorist organization, but not the YPG.

Since the attack, Ankara has launched a series of airstrikes and ground attacks against militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq, while increasing domestic security operations.