UK police arrest seven linked to banned Kurdish group PKK

Seven people have been arrested in London for “suspected activity” linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as part of a “significant” counter-terrorism policing operation, police said Wednesday.

Two women and five men were detained under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Metropolitan Police said, but there is “not believed” to be any imminent threat to the public linked to the probe.

The PKK is a separatist movement seeking an independent Kurdish state in southeast Turkey. It is banned under British law and also considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

“These are targeted arrests of those we suspect of being involved in terrorist activity linked to the group,” Helen Flanagan from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said in a statement.

As part of the investigation, raids were carried out at eight London addresses, including at a Kurdish community centre in north London.

Protests later erupted outside the centre and officers arrested four people after clashes, not in connection with the investigation, police said.

“This investigation and activity is about protecting all of our communities, but particularly those in our Turkish and Kurdish communities,” Flanagan said.