Anti-terrorism police foil PKK plot for attack in Istanbul

Turkish security forces foiled a terror plot by PKK members to use a van laden with explosives to carry out an attack in Istanbul.

According to the security sources, an Istanbul counter-terror police unit caught a minibus in Istanbul's Yenibosna district on Dec.14, a day after seizing 60 kilograms of explosives in a nearby district to be used in a terror attack on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul.

The terror group members who were preparing to place explosives to the vehicle were connected with the foiled attack against the OIC summit.

The Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) and Istanbul police had been closely monitoring the terror group's activities prior to the operations, sources said.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.

Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.