By Hamdi Celikbas
ANKARA (AA) – As part of a terror probe in eastern Turkey, several local officials from a political party accused of terrorist ties were arrested early Friday, according to security sources.
Three mayors and two so-called co-mayors from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) were arrested in the eastern Van province over suspected terror links.
The mayors are Yilmaz Salan of Muradiye, Yakup Amac of Ozalp, and Erkan Acar of Baskale.
This August, mayors in the Van, Diyarbakir, and Mardin provinces in eastern and southeastern Turkey were suspended over alleged terror links. They all came from the HDP, which Turkey's government accuses of having links to the YPG/PKK terror group.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union — has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian branch.
