Turkish gendarmes seize suspected Kurd militants

ISTANBUL, May 27 (Reuters) Turkish gendarme forces have caught two suspected militants from a separatist Kurdish group and seized explosives and weapons, Anatolian news agency said today.

It said security forces stormed a house in the suburbs of Turkey's third largest city Izmir and detained two members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose armed campaign Ankara blames for more than 30,000 deaths since 1984.

''The two members were preparing for an attack,'' the agency quoted security officers as saying. Security forces also seized hand grenades, explosives, two assault rifles and two handguns.

Six Turks were killed in a bomb blast outside a shopping mall in central Ankara on Tuesday. Ankara's governor said a suicide bomber caused the blast and authorities said it had all the hallmarks of past PKK attacks.

The PKK denied carrying out the attack, which wounded more than 100 people.

Separately, Anatolian said police in the southern town of Adana had caught three people sought for aiding a Turkish woman detained on Wednesday for what police said were plans to carry out a suicide attack. The woman was seized with 11.3 kg of explosive, two hand bombs and 12 detonators, they said.

REUTERS SG RK1823