Police forces stormed several houses in various cities on Friday in the scope of an investigation started by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Urfa province.

The Urfa-centered operation involved the cities of Adana, Osmaniye, Hatay, Çorum, Amed, Siirt, Mardin, Uşak and İzmir.

17 people were taken into custody in the operation on the grounds that they would protest against the 15 February international conspiracy which led to the abduction of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan from Kenya to Turkey in 1999.