Over 40 PKK suspects arrested in Turkey

IZMIR, Turkey

At total of 45 PKK suspects have been arrested across Turkey for their suspected links to the PKK terrorist group, police sources said on Friday.

In the western Izmir-based operation, counter-terrorism police arrested 36 suspects in Istanbul, Ankara, Kocaeli, Erzurum, Manisa and Izmir provinces, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The Prosecutor's Office in western Izmir had issued arrest warrants for the suspects, as part of a probe against the terror group, the sources said.

Separately, 8 PKK-linked suspects were arrested in the central Kayseri province for promoting the terror group PKK/PYD on social media, another source said.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.

Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.

Reporting by Mustafa Yildirim:Writing by Faruk Zorlu