Prosecutors charge alleged Turkish extremist

BERLIN – German prosecutors say they have charged a Turkish man with membership in a banned leftist group that seeks armed struggle against the Turkish government.

The federal prosecutor's office said Thursday that 29-year-old Unalkaplan D. served as a leading member of the Turkish Marxist terrorist organization DHKP-C in Germany from May 2003 to February 2010, when he was arrested.

Prosecutors say he was initially responsible for collecting money from members in Cologne for the DHKP-C's armed struggle, but went on to lead the organization's regional branch.

DHKP-C is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. It has claimed responsibility for a number of assassinations and bombings in Turkey since the 1970s.