Two PKK-Linked Groups behind Attacks in Turkey, Says Minister

Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu speaks during a meeting to discuss cooperation on migration management in Ankara, on October 3, 2019. (AFP)
Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu speaks during a meeting to discuss cooperation on migration management in Ankara, on October 3, 2019. (AFP)
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Two PKK-Linked Groups behind Attacks in Turkey, Says Minister

Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu speaks during a meeting to discuss cooperation on migration management in Ankara, on October 3, 2019. (AFP)
Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu speaks during a meeting to discuss cooperation on migration management in Ankara, on October 3, 2019. (AFP)

Two far-leftist groups with alleged links to the Kurdish militant group PKK carried out two bombings in Turkey this week, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Friday.

A prison guard was killed in an explosion that hit a bus in Turkey's northwestern province of Bursa on Wednesday. A day later, an attacker placed a bomb in Istanbul's Gaziosmanpasa district outside the offices of a non-governmental organization.

"We identified the perpetrators of both attacks, in Bursa and Istanbul. They are affiliated with two organizations subcontracting for the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party)," Soylu told broadcaster NTV in an interview.

He said the MLKP and the DKP-BOG - groups that are banned in Turkey for alleged links to the PKK had carried out the attacks.

Although attacks have declined sharply in recent years, similar actions have been carried out in the past by Kurdish, leftist and Islamist militants.

On Monday, Turkey announced the start of a new ground and air campaign in northern Iraq, targeting PKK militants.

Dubbed Operation Claw-Lock, Ankara says the offensive is a measure to prevent the PKK from using Iraq as a base to carry out attacks in Turkey.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union and launched its insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in its conflict with the Turkish state.



Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.