Three PKK militants who tried to infiltrate into Turkey from its southeastern border were captured on Friday in a joint operation by the National Intelligence Directorate (MİT) and police.
The militants, trained in using explosives, were plotting attacks in big cities in Turkey, media outlets reported. They were captured in Mardin, a province bordering Syria.
The PKK, which has been active in Turkey since the 1980s, has faced a crackdown since 2015, the year it broke a unilateral truce. The terrorist group has killed hundreds of security officials and civilians in three years but daily military and police operations are credited with decreasing its attacks significantly. Apart from operations inside Turkey, the Turkish army occasionally strikes PKK targets in airstrikes in northern Iraq where the terrorist group has hideouts in a mountainous region.
Syria, which allowed the PKK to freely operate in the past, is now home to the People's Protection Units (YPG), a group linked to the PKK. Concerned with the YPG presence close to its border with Syria, Turkey has launched a cross-border operation recently to capture Afrin, a YPG stronghold. Afrin was liberated from the terrorists in a joint operation of the Turkish army and Syrian opposition forces.