Turkish police have detained 16 suspects under the scope of an operation carried out against terrorist organization PKK's youth branch Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) in several districts of İzmir city, according to Daily Sabah.

Dawn raid was conducted simultaneously in İzmir's Menemen and Torbali districts with the participation of 500 police officers.

Police have confiscated weapons including guns and pump rifles, as well as organizational documents.

Suspects were taken to the Counterterrorism Branch of İzmir Police.

The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Turkey was long plagued by PKK's bloody campaign of terror for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast and killed tens of thousands of people over three decades.