Spain arrests nine accused of association with the PKK

Spanish police arrested nine people on Jan. 27 accused of belonging to and collaborating with a criminal and terrorist organization due to connections with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The statement said that eight of those arrested were from Spain and one was from Turkey, Reuters reported.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The decades-long conflict has cost more than 40,000 lives.  

The operation, which was reported to remain open, also searched 11 houses during dawn raids in Madrid, Valencia and Bilbao, the ministry said. 

"Those arrested, in collaboration with other residents in other European countries, supplied the necessary infrastructure to send people to join the ranks of the [outlawed] People's Protection Units (YPG)," the ministry said. The YPG is the urban wing of the militant group. 

Including the arrests on Jan. 27, Spain has detained 19 people accused of belonging to the PKK since 2013, according to the ministry.
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