Police detain 26 PKK, Daesh, DHKP-C-linked terror suspects in Turkey's southeast

Police detained 26 terror suspects from Daesh, PKK and DHKP-C terrorist groups in counterterror operations in Turkey's Hatay, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa provinces respectively.

According to reports, counterterror squads from Hatay Police detained 14 Daesh-linked suspects in Reyhanlı, Antakya, Yayladağı, Kırıkhan and Altınözü districts near the Syrian border Saturday.

The suspects were brought to the police headquarters for testimony, reports said.

In Diyarbakır, police detained nine suspects for providing assistance to the PKK terror group under the scope of a counterterror probe launched by Diyarbakır Prosecutor's Office.

Meanwhile, Şanlıurfa Police detained three girls under the age of 18 headed to join the PKK's Syrian affiliate Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Kobani. The girls had reportedly arrived from Istanbul and were planning to reach Kobani through Suruç to receive training from the terrorists. Investigation revealed that the girls are members of the DHKP-C terror organization.

Turkish police have boosted security checks on the borders and inside the country to prevent the flow of terrorists.

Turkey has been targeted by a wave of deadly attacks since 2015 by Daesh and PKK terrorists.

The country has deported more than 5,000 Daesh suspects and 3,290 foreign terrorists from 95 different countries in recent years, while dismantling terror cells and safe houses providing logistical assistance to the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq or plotting attacks inside the country.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., EU and Turkey, claims to fight for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey and has killed thousands of civilians in more than three decades of terror attacks. More than 4,000 security personnel and over 2,000 civilians have also been injured in the attacks carried out by the terrorist group.

Founded in 1978, he DHKP-C also poses a considerable threat to the country's security, especially after a recent string of attacks.