Turkish police seize 18 suspects in coordinated raids linked to DHKP-C attacks

Turkish police carried out coordinated raids in seven provinces, detaining 18 people suspected of involvement in DHKP-C-linked terror attacks between 2016 and 2019. The investigation, led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, focuses on incidents such as a March 31, 2016 firebombing of a police water-cannon vehicle in Sultangazi, subsequent Molotov attacks on police cars, and gunfire aimed at the Gazi Police Station on May 1, 2016.

Authorities also linked the case to the 2019 shooting of an AK Party election office in Sultangazi and a banner mimicking an explosive device near the Bayrampaşa Riot Police Department in 2017. Prosecutors say 50 suspects were identified, with 11 already serving sentences and 20 thought to be overseas. The raids covered 27 addresses—21 in Istanbul and the rest in Ankara, Hatay, Tunceli, Balıkesir, Manisa and Izmir—targeting 19 suspects, while counterterrorism officers continue to search for the remaining fugitives.