Turkish police arrest 5 PKK/KCK terrorists in eastern Van

Turkish police arrested five PKK/KCK terrorists in an operation in the eastern Van province, the country's interior minister said on Wednesday.

The terrorists, who were found to be members of a terrorist cell, were preparing an attack before they were nabbed, Süleyman Soylu said in a news conference in the capital Ankara.

He also said the terrorists had received orders for the attack from Iran's northwestern Keleres region neighboring Türkiye's Van.

The members of the terrorist cell were Cahit Hezer, codenamed Sores Fatih Doktor, Vehbi Kiyat, codenamed Nedim, as well as Kadir Kiyağ, Özgür Aytekin and Fırat Kırdağ, Soylu added.

Turkish police also seized several weapons, ammunition and hand grenades, as well as an explosive device at the places of the PKK terrorists.

Organizational documents and digital materials were also seized, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

"Hereby, another terrorist attack was thwarted by the counter terrorism police and intelligence bureau units in eastern Van province," Soylu said.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK-listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and EU-has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.