Turkey: Suspended Mardin mayor remanded in custody

By Halil Ibrahim Sincar and Nazmi Akyol

MARDIN, Turkey

A suspended mayor of Turkey's southeastern city of Mardin who was detained as part of an anti-terror investigation was remanded in custody Thursday, according to a judicial source.

Ahmet Turk, who apart from being mayor was also a Mardin MP since the 1970s, was sent to court Thursday, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turk was suspended on Nov. 17 by the Interior Ministry and detained on Monday within the scope of the anti-terror investigation conducted by the Mardin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year and has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,100 security force members and civilians, including women and children.

Around 10,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended in the same period.