ISTANBUL, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained 52 suspects on Tuesday in a large-scale operation over their alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The operation, which took place across nine provinces, was carried out under detention orders from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for a total of 60 suspects, according to the semi-official Anadolu Agency.
The operation was part of an investigation into the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), which authorities claim acts as a "legal facade" for PKK activities.
HDK is an alliance of numerous left-wing political movements, organizations, and parties formed in 2011.
Anadolu reported that among those detained were provincial officials from the Labor Party and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party.
The suspects are believed to have acted in accordance with the PKK's instructions to assist in the group's social mobilization.
During the operation, a significant amount of digital materials were seized, and efforts to apprehend the remaining eight suspects are ongoing, said the report.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state for decades. ■
