ANKARA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police have detained 282 individuals in operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party over the past five days, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday.
"The operations, carried out in provinces, including Ankara and Istanbul, targeted individuals suspected of involvement with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)," Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.
The individuals were involved in the PKK's political, financial and prison networks. During the raids across 51 provinces, the police seized multiple weapons, including two AK-47 rifles, he added.
Turkish authorities have recently stepped up security operations and urged the PKK to surrender its weapons.
On Saturday, Turkish authorities removed a pro-Kurdish DEM Party mayor from office in the eastern province of Van on terrorism-related charges.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Trkiye, the United States and the European Union, has been engaged in armed rebellion against the Turkish government for four decades.
