‘AK Party’s most important feature is its ability to renovate and renew itself,’ Erdogan says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party will make major changes in its structure before the 2019 elections. “We have been in continuous struggle in the past 16 years since this party was […]

Military statement says 5 storage facilities destroyed in Hakkari province The Turkish Air Force hit five targets in raids on PKK facilities in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the military said Tuesday. A statement from the General Staff said Monday’s airstrikes were launched following intelligence that a group of terrorists were planning an attack on […]

Counterterrorism operations also see 40 PKK shelters plus large amount of firearms, ammunition destroyed Forty-six PKK terrorists, including two senior members, were neutralized in counterterror operations in eastern Turkey in the past week, the military said on Friday. The 46 terrorists included Behtin Bilen, codenamed Dijyar, who surrendered to the security forces, and Yilmaz Kes, […]

Turkey replaced its land, naval and air force commanders on Wednesday, the presidential spokesperson announced at a press conference. Former Gendarmerie Commander Gen. Yasar Guler has been appointed as the new land forces chief and Vice Adm. Adnan Ozbal has been named the navy chief, said Ibrahim Kalin. Also, Gen. Hasan Kucukakyuz has been appointed […]

Mehmet Gormez, 58, has helmed the Religious Affairs Directorate for nearly 7 years Turkey’s top religious official retired from his post on Monday, sources from the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) confirmed. Mehmet Gormez’s retirement request was accepted by the Turkish Prime Ministry, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions […]

Turkish security forces detained at least 645 foreign nationals over the past week as they tried to cross into Europe illegally from western Turkey’s Izmir province. The detentions came as part of operations targeting illegal crossings from Turkish provinces into European states by sea. Between July 24 and 31, teams from Izmir’s regional gendarmerie command […]

Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles, equipped with the latest smart ammunition systems, were successfully tested on Sunday, officials of an Istanbul-based company said. The smart ammunition systems loaded to the Armed Bayraktar TB2 drones were able to hit targets 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) away, said Baykar Makina officials who did not want to be named due […]

Firearms, ammunition, narcotics seized in counterterrorism raids, says Turkish military Fifty-five PKK terrorists were killed in counterterrorism operations in southeastern Turkey over the last week, according to military figures released on Friday. The operations were conducted in the southeastern provinces of Sirnak, Hakkari, Mardin, Diyarbakir, Bitlis and Agri between July 20 and 27, a statement […]

Opposition lawmakers protesting draft parliament bylaw changes Turkish opposition, Republican People’s Party (CHP), lawmakers refused to leave parliament early Thursday, in protest of draft bylaw changes under consideration. “CHP group, as a protest to the silencing of the opposition, is not leaving parliament tonight,” the CHP deputy chairman Ozgur Ozel said. Parliament’s deputy speaker Ahmet […]

Germans in Turkey ask their government to resolve differences with Ankara Alanya, a coastal district of Turkey’s southern Antalya province is home to some 10,000 Germans. As Berlin and Ankara mow their way through a rough patch in their relations, many Germans settled in the resort town claim they have led a happy life in […]