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Security Directorate establishes Heron unit for anti-terror operations
In the wake of an outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attack that left 13 soldiers dead in the Silvan district of Diyarbakır last month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said changes in the fight against terrorism were forthcoming and the police's responsibility in combating terrorism would be increased.
The Heron unit at the Security General Directorate will relay the real-time intelligence collected by UAVs to the police's Special Operations Teams, enabling them to carry out pinpoint strikes against the terrorist group.
There are plans to send 15 police officers of the Heron unit to the United States for UAV training. A delegation from the Aviation Bureau of the Security Directorate recently travelled to the United States to attend a Heron fair and examine the Herons to be purchased.
The Security Directorate's UAVs will collect real-time intelligence in the rural areas of southeastern Turkey where the PKK frequently carries out attacks. Intelligence gathered by the UAVs will be transferred to the Aviation Bureau of the Security Directorate in Ankara's Gölbaşı district, from where Special Operations Teams will constantly receive intelligence, which will allow them to carry out operations against the PKK.
Members of the special operations teams will be trained in northwestern province of Kastamonu, where the facilities of the Kastamonu Police Vocational High School are to be assigned to the Special Operations Unit. These teams that will carry out operations in rural areas will be equipped with heavy artillery and use Cobra armored vehicles, which are currently used by the military.
National Police Department head Mehmet Kılıçlar early this week removed counterterrorism department head Yüksel Babal from his post because he thought Babal was not competent enough in the field of counterterrorism. Kılıçlar is expected to appoint an official who has served in the fight against terrorism for years as the new head of the counterterrorism department.
A senior police official who declined to be named, criticized Turkey for its years-long failure in counterterrorism efforts, which have so far concentrated on defense.
“Over the years, we have always been on the defensive in the fight against terrorism. Tracking the PKK terrorists, we did not carry out a serious operation against them. The PKK terrorists were generally pursued after the terrorist attacks and these efforts proved futile. Now, we are leaving defense. Pinpoint operations will be carried out against PKK terrorists whose locations will be determined with real-time intelligence,” said the official.
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