Report: Police See Risk of PKK Strikes on Turkish Targets in Germany
Berlin police have warned that there are risks of attacks by Kurdish militants against Turkish targets in Germany, according to an internal document seen by Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
The document classified "for use only by the service" said militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) could carry out "offenses against state institutions including Turkey's consulate and embassy as well as cultural and commercial facilities in the form of media-attention attracting occupations, vandalism and arson."
In particular, vehicles bearing the Turkish diplomatic flags could be set on fire before Turkey's elections on November 1, warned the document quoted by the newspaper.
Major companies like airlines and banks could also be under threat of "occupations of radio and media offices, party offices."
A police spokeswoman declined comment on the report.
PKK militants have carried out several strikes in Turkey in recent weeks, after Ankara used air power and ground forces in a self-declared "anti-terror" operation launched in late July to try to cripple the rebel group in its strongholds in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.
The PKK has waged an insurgency for self rule in Turkey's southeast since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Both sides had appeared to be inching towards a peace deal after a 2013 ceasefire, but its prospects are now seen as far off as ever.
Germany is home to a three-million-strong ethnic Turkish community, with many having immigrated in the 1960s and 1970s for employment.
Source: Agence France Presse
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