Police raided the homes and offices of suspects in Istanbul, the southeastern provinces of Batman and Diyarbakir as well as the eastern province of Van, the governor's office in Batman said in a statement.

Accusations against the suspects include being members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), aiding and abetting PKK rebels and encouraging people to join the organization and participate in its armed campaign, the statement said.

Police seized several arms and explosives during the raids.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms against the government in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

In August, the government announced plans to expand Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode popular support for the PKK and end the insurgency.

But the initiative suffered a serious blow last month when seven soldiers were killed in a PKK ambush and the constitutional court outlawed Turkey's main Kurdish party for links to the rebels, sparking deadly Kurdish protests and street violence.