FILE PHOTO: Turkish Police

No fewer than 47 people have been detained in Turkey’s southern province of Adana for plotting a terror attack, local media reported on Friday.

“Counter-terrorism police carried out simultaneous operations at 73 separate locations across the province, ahead of the March 21 spring festival of Newroz,” the report said.

The suspects were preparing for a terrorist attack with arms, Molotov cocktails and improvised explosives following a call by the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK).

Among those detained were five women and 10 children, the source added.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, has been striving for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state by armed combat since the 1970s.

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The raid took place amid intense Turkish-led military operations in Afrin, northern Syria, targeting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, which were alleged by Ankara to be affiliated with the PKK.