Turkiye Starts Anti-PKK Operation in 18 Provinces, 90 Suspects Detained - Reports

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The Turkish armed forces have started an operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), banned in Turkiye, in the country's 18 provinces that resulted in 90 detentions, a Turkish newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The operation is aimed at detecting and eliminating hidden structures of the terrorist organization and is targeting the group's sleeping cells, spread across 18 provinces, including Sanliurfa, according to Turkish media.

On Sunday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two terrorists had carried out an explosion near a ministry building in Ankara. Two police officers were wounded. One of the attackers had been identified as a PKK member. Later on Sunday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the country's military conducted air strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and destroyed 20 targets.

The armed conflict between the PKK and Turkiye began in 1984 and renewed in 2015. The organization, which seeks the creation of an independent Kurdish state, including on the Turkish territory, has established bases in Iraqi and Syrian territories close to the Turkish border, where the Turkish armed forces have been targeting them in land and air strikes.