VZCZCXRO5787
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0063/01 2941123
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211123Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4782
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1324
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1094
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1391

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADANA 000063 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/NEA, DS/IP/ITA, INR AND NEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PTER PINR CASC TU
SUBJECT: SE TURKEY SECURITY INCIDENTS: OCTOBER 12 -18, 2009 
 
¶1. The following security incidents for the period of October 
12-18, 2009 were compiled by the security assistant at Consulate 
Adana from RSO sources, to include Turkish security contacts, 
government officials and media.  Similar reports have been 
previously shared informally by e-mail.  Post is now sending 
this information in cable format to ensure wider and more 
regular distribution.  The RSO uses the information to determine 
the security situation and trends of violence and crime 
throughout Turkey.  The RSO shares the information with the 
country team and visas viper coordinator. 
 
¶2. Military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party 
(PKK) as reported by the Turkish General Staff: 
 
¶A. Weapons, ammunition, and equipment seized: 
 
Sirnak - 10.17.09: 1 Kalashnikov infantry rifle, 5 magazines, 
150 rounds of Kalashnikov rifle ammunition, 2 hand grenades, 1 
pair of binoculars and money. 
 
Siirt - 10.17.09: 84 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, 500 grams of 
A-4 plastic explosive materials, and 75 centimeters of 
time-fuse. 
 
Hakkari - 10.16.09: 1 RPG-7 rocket launcher and 3 rounds of 
RPG-7 ammunition. 
 
Sirnak - 10.15.09: 1 pair of binoculars, 1 RPG-7 rocket launcher 
and 1 round of RPG-7 ammunition. 
 
Diyarbakir - 10.15.09: 18 kilograms of ammonium nitrate. 
 
Mardin - 10.13.09: 2 kilograms ammonium nitrate, 600 grams of 
A-4 plastic explosives, 2 electrical fuses, and one IED made of 
14 batteries. 
 
¶B. PKK members captured or surrendered: 
 
10.12.09 through 10.18.09: Security forces neutralized 10 total 
PKK members. 1 was killed and 9 surrendered to security 
officials. 
 
Siirt - 10.16.09: 1 PKK member surrendered. 
 
Sirnak - 10.15.09: 1 PKK member surrendered. 
 
Siirt - 10.14.09: 1 PKK member captured. 
 
Sirnak - 10.15.09: 1 PKK member killed. 1 pair of night-vision 
goggles, 1 wireless radio, and various pieces of logistical 
equipment were seized and destroyed in the operation. 
 
Sirnak - 10.14.09: 7 PKK members surrendered. 
 
¶C. PKK attacks: 
 
Hakkari - 10.17.09: A civilian was wounded by a PKK landmine. 
 
Sirnak - 10.16.09: PKK members attacked a military patrol team, 
wounding 2 troops. 
 
Hakkari - 10.13.09: A remote-controlled IED exploded as a 
military vehicle was passing by the area; no injuries reported. 
 
Sirnak - 10.13.09: 2 troops were wounded in a IED blast. 
 
Sirnak - 10.13.09: A round of booby-trapped artillery ammunition 
blasted as a military vehicle was passing by. There was no loss 
of life or injury in the incident. 
 
¶3. Media reports related to PKK and pro-Kurdish organizations 
 
¶A. Anti-PKK operations: 
 
Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) anti-PKK operations in SE Turkey 
continues.  Many armored vehicles, military personnel and 
ammunition were sent to the operation areas in Sirnak (Mount 
Cudi and Cehennem Deresi/Hell River), Siirt, Hakkari, Agri 
(Cumacay), Mardin (Mazidagi), and Diyarbakir. 
 
¶N. Iraq - 10.13.09: TAF bombed the Zap and Haftanin region. The 
anti-PKK operation launched on October 7 in the mountainous 
terrain of Dogubeyazit district ( Agri province) continues. 
 
¶B. Arrests: 
 
Van - 10.18.09: Security forces caught 2 people trying to 
recruit members for the PKK. The 2 were later released by a 
court decision. 
 
 
ADANA 00000063  002 OF 003 
 
 
Sirnak - 10.17.09: Security forces detained 1 person suspected 
of terrorism. 
 
Diyarbakir - 10.16.09: 3 people, who were threatening 
shopkeepers on behalf of the PKK for shutting down their 
establishments, were arrested on the charge of "threatening the 
public." 
 
Sirnak - 10.14.09: 2 people were arrested on the charge of 
"assisting the PKK." 
 
Sirnak - 10.14.09: DTP mayor of  Kumcati was sentenced to 4 
years in prison on charges of "assisting and harboring the PKK." 
 
Diyarbakir - 10.14.09: Security forces detained 7 people 
preparing to carry out PKK terrorist activities. The suspects 
later were arrested on the charges of "possessing explosive 
material" and "being members of the PKK." 
 
Hakkari - 10.14.09: Security forces detained a person on the 
suspicion of terrorist activity. 
 
Siirt - 10.14.09: Former DTP district chairman of Kurtulan 
district was sentenced to 5 months in prison for terrorist 
activity. 
 
Van -10.14.09:  4 of 11 people were arrested on the charge of 
"carrying out an illegal demonstration on behalf of the PKK" for 
taking to the street on October 9 to protest the expulsion of 
Abdullah Ocalan from Syria. 
 
Sanliurfa - 10.13.09: 7 people, including a DTP Viransehir 
District Chairman, were sentenced to 2 and 2.5 years in prison 
on charges of "violating restrictions on marches and 
demonstrations." 
 
Adana - 10.13.09: The secretary of Adana's Human Rights 
Association was sentenced to 10 months in prison on a charge of 
"making propaganda for the terror organization PKK." 
 
¶C. Other media stories about PKK: 
 
10.18.09 - Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin announced new 
prisoners will be transferred to the Imrali Island prison "in a 
week to 10 days." 
 
10.18.09: Approximately 32 PKK members are expected to surrender 
to security forces in Silopi on October 19 as a peace gesture in 
support of a solution to the Kurdish issue. They will enter 
Turkey across the Iraqi border at Habur Gate. 
 
10.17.09 - PKK plans to leave Armenia as Turkish-Armenian ties 
develop, making it more difficult to find safehavens in the 
region.  Many PKK members traveled to Armenia after the TAF 
launched cross-border operations in northern Iraq in February 
2008 to eliminate PKK camps. 
 
10.17.09 - It is reported that PKK will engage in provocative 
actions such as hunger strikes at prisons to increase its jailed 
members' morale. 
 
10.14.09: The U.S. Treasury Department declared that Murat 
Karayilan, a PKK commander in northern Iraq, and PKK members Ali 
Riza Altun and Zubayir Aydar, were international drug smugglers. 
The designation would freeze any U.S.-based assets and prohibit 
U.S. citizens from doing business with them. 
 
10.13.09: PJAK has started to increase its illegal drug 
activities in Iran. Iranian forces stormed a house in Dilazi 
Village of Salmas Town and captured 2 PJAK members and killed 3; 
security forces seized 560 kilograms of hashish and $300,000. 
 
10.13.09:  According to a report from the Turkish Ministry of 
the Interior, since 2003, Syria has handed over 122 terrorists, 
including 77 PKK members. 
 
10.14.09 through 10.18.09: Protests were held in Hakkari, 
Sanliurfa, and Batman to protest Ocalan's cell confinement 
punishment. 
 
10.14.09: Thousands of DTP members in Van, Siirt, Diyarbakir, 
Mardin, Sirnak, Hakkari, Agri, Igdir, Bitlis, Mus, and Kars held 
sit-in activities to protest the GOT's stance on Abdullah 
Ocalan's road map. 
 
Sirnak - 10.18.09: PKK members attacked a military patrol team 
and wounded 2 troops. 
 
Diyarbakir - 10.18.09: 57 NGOs in Diyarbakir released a press 
statement supporting the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation's 
 
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(KCK) decision to send peace teams. 
 
¶4. Media reports on significant crime or security incidents: 
 
10.18.09: According to official statistics, 2,500 people were 
injured and 580 were killed by landmines or war ordnances 
between 1993 and 2003. In the past two years alone, 56 civilians 
were killed and 132 were wounded. 
 
Hakkari - 10.17.09: A civilian was shot dead; motive is unknown. 
 
Adana - 10.16.09: Security forces stormed 35 separate houses and 
detained 36 people in anti-theft operation. 345 police officers 
joined in the operations. 5 kilograms of hashish, 4 pistols, and 
1 rifle were seized in the operations. 
 
Kars - 10.14.09: Security forces found 1 round of unexploded 
artillery. 
 
Hakkari - 10.14.09: A person sitting in a cafe was attacked by 
an unidentified gunman. The person was heavily wounded.  Motive 
is unknown. 
 
Sanliurfa - 10.14.09:  A police patrol vehicle was attacked by 
unidentified people with long-range rifles; no injuries 
reported. 
 
Hakkari - 10.13.09: TAF declared Kirikdag Village Hakkari a 
military security zone due to impending military operations; the 
public is banned from entering or exiting the area. 
 
Diyarbakir - 10.13.09: Turkish Ziraat Bank was robbed by armed 
assailants. 
 
Adana - 10.13.09: Security forces found 28 rounds of G-3 and 
Kalashnikov rifle ammunition in a rural area. 
 
Hatay - 10.13.09:  Security forces seized 3 rifles, 1 pistol, 17 
magazines and 700 rounds of ammunition in an anti-smuggling 
operation. 
 
¶5. Illegal immigrant arrests: 
 
10.12.09 through 10.15.09: Security forces captured and deported 
300 illegal immigrants from:  Istanbul, Edirne, Mersin, Kayseri, 
Agri, Erzurum, Igdir, Kilis, Sirnak, Van, Canakkale, Bitlis, 
Hatay, Aydin, and the borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Greece. 
 
¶6. Counter-narcotic operations: 
 
Sanliurfa - 10.18.09: Security forces seized 25 kilograms of 
hashish. 
 
Adiyaman - 10.18.09: Security forces seized 17 kilograms of 
hashish and 25 seeds of cannabis. 
 
Adana - 10.16.09: Security forces confiscated 15 kilograms of 
hashish and arrested 3 people. 
 
Adiyaman - 10.14.09: Security forces seized 18 kilograms of 
hashish and detained 11 people. 
 
Bingol - 10.14.09: Security forces seized 8 kilograms of hashish 
and arrested 1 person. 
 
Van - 10.14.09: Security forces seized 66 kilograms of hashish. 
 
Bingol - 10.13.09: Security forces seized 8 kilograms of hashish. 
 
Diyarbakir - 10.13.09: Security forces seized 36 kilograms of 
hashish. 
 
¶7. Anti-al-Qaeda operations in SE Turkey: 
 
10.14.09: Turkish police detained 57 people in anti-terrorism 
operations launched simultaneously in 11 provinces.  The 
suspects, believed to be members of the Islamic Jihad League 
(IJL), a group linked to al-Qaeda, were allegedly plotting to 
attack NATO and American installations in Turkey and Germany. 
The Istanbul and Van police departments carried out operations 
in the provinces of Istanbul, Van, Bursa, Erzurum, Sakarya, 
Konya, Hatay, Batman and Adana. 
 
According to Turkish National Police contacts in the region: 
-  1 al-Qaeda member was captured in Hatay. 
-  1 al-Qaeda member was captured in Adana, and is suspected 
only of being a sympathizer. 
-  44 IJL members detained in Van, all suspected of active 
membership in preparations to carry out an attack, although the 
threat was long term and not imminent.DARNELL