With the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) again heating up, Turkey is promising several new strategies for fighting the group. One of these is the introduction of a counterterrorism police force that will compliment the work of the Turkish military in areas where the PKK is active inside Turkey. According to a report in Today's Zaman, the new unit will even have its own pilotless drones (UAV's) collecting intelligence. From the article:

In line with government plans to give police a more effective role in counterterrorism efforts, the Security General Directorate has established a Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit and will purchase Heron drones to provide real-time intelligence in counterterrorism 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.

Full story here.