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Turkey Detains Dozens Over Alleged IS Links

  Advertisement Turkish authorities on Friday detained dozens of suspects over alleged links to the Islamic State during morning raids in two provinces, state news … Continue reading Turkey Detains Dozens Over Alleged IS Links


 

Turkish authorities on Friday detained dozens of suspects over alleged links to the Islamic State during morning raids in two provinces, state news agency Anadolu reported.

In Ankara, 52 people were taken into custody after the capital’s chief prosecutor issued 64 arrest warrants as part of a probe into the IS jihadist group.

Raids continued to find the 12 other suspects.

Police discovered weapons including guns and ammunition at the homes of the suspects in Ankara, Anadolu reported.

And in the northern province of Samsun, 10 Iraqis were detained over suspected IS ties, the agency said.

Turkish authorities have conducted similar raids in the capital this year.

Just a few days before national elections in June, 14 suspected IS members were detained accused of planning an attack on the polls.

Turkey was hit by a series of terror attacks in 2015 and 2016 attributed to IS and Kurdish militants. The last attack was in January 2017 when a gunman killed 39 people at an elite Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations.

The arrests come as Turkey has vowed to eliminate IS in Syria, threatening to launch an offensive soon against jihadists and a Syrian Kurdish militia in the wake of the US announcement to withdraw all ground forces from the war-torn country.

AFP