Regions under the command of high-ranking military officers mentioned in the indictment in a subversive plan to overthrow the government have seen a sharp increase recently in the number of acts of terror perpetrated by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The indictment into the Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan names a total of 102 suspects, including 28 generals. Last week an İstanbul court ordered the arrest of the suspects. Sledgehammer, the most recently exposed in a series of shadowy plots, is a Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) plan that aimed to create an atmosphere of chaos in the country through a series of acts of violence that would eventually lead to a military coup.One of the generals mentioned in the Sledgehammer indictment is Gen. Nejat Bek, the commander of the 6th Army Corps. He oversees nearly 40,000 soldiers and is responsible for fighting terror in areas such as Hatay, Mersin, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye and Gaziantep. Terrorist attacks carried out in those areas have multiplied recently. In early June, PKK terrorists killed seven Turkish naval soldiers and injured six others in the southern province of İskenderun. The attack was the first time the PKK had targeted a naval base. Only a few days later, terrorists launched a rocket that hit a military housing complex in Osmaniye, killing the wife of a lieutenant.Another general indicted in the Sledgehammer indictment is Gen. Mustafa Korkut Özarslan, the head of the 8th Army Corps. The general also commands 40,000 soldiers and is responsible for counterterrorism efforts in Tunceli, Bingöl, Ağrı, Kars, Bitlis, Van and Elazığ. In the past six months, Turkey has witnessed a series of violent acts of terror in those cities. Four soldiers were killed when PKK terrorists attacked the Sarıyayla outpost in Tunceli and two others were killed in a separate attack on the Karakoçan outpost in Elazığ. A mine attack targeting a civilian bus carrying soldiers on the Tunceli-Elazığ highway left 15 injured.The attack on the Sarıyayla outpost came after the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court accepted an indictment in the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, a suspected military plan aimed to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement. The court later decided to arrest Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature is on the plot document.Gen. Yurdaer Olcan, deputy head of the War Academies, is also among the Sledgehammer generals. Between 2008 and 2009, he served as the Van Gendarmerie Public Order Corps commander. Seven soldiers were killed in a mine blast in Çukurca, Hakkari province, on May 27 of last year. The General Staff put the blame for the land mine on the terrorist PKK, but a civilian investigation into the blast by Van prosecutors found that the mine belonged to the Turkish military.Furthermore, a brazen attack on a military outpost in the Aktütün area of eastern Hakkari province claimed the lives of 17 soldiers and wounded 21 others in October 2008. In late 2007, Olcan was responsible for fighting terror in the Southeast. In Dağlıca during that time, a PKK attack on a battalion killed 13 soldiers. The Dağlıca attack coincided with the presidential elections, government plans to settle the Kurdish question through peaceful methods and the improvement of relations with northern Iraq.In a speech, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu pointed to the timing of the Dağlıca assault and said: “The attack took Turkey to the separation of paths. We had to either take a step toward war or peace. We acted with common sense and chose peace. The Dağlıca attack was probably launched to foment a war between Turks and Kurds.”Another general mentioned in the Sledgehammer indictment is Gen. Gürbüz Kaya, the Hakkari division commander. The general came under fire last year over his remarks after the deaths of seven soldiers in Çukurca. “It is not important at all. We are fighting at the cost of our lives. A few simple mistakes can be made,” he was quoted as saying in a voice recording. Kaya's remarks sparked outrage, with many asking military courts to take action against the general for negligence in the conduct of his duty as a military officer.He was back in the press in late June after the killings of nine soldiers by PKK terrorists in Şemdinli. He said security cameras had captured images of individuals approaching the Şemdinli border unit but that at the time they believed they were either shepherds or smugglers.The head of the Gendarmerie Provincial Command in Tokat, Gen. Ömer Mimiroğlu, is also indicted in the Sledgehammer indictment. Tokat is better known for a bloody PKK attack in December 2009. An attack in the Reşadiye district of the province left seven soldiers dead. The attack came as the Constitutional Court was discussing whether to shut down the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). 27 July 2010, TuesdayMUSTAFA GÜRLEK/ATILLA İLHAN/YASIN KILIÇ  İSTANBUL