Turkish police detained 34 people over suspected Islamic State links

Turkish police detained 34 people suspected of ties to Islamic State (ISIS) in Istanbul and the southern province of Mersin, Diken news website reported on Saturday.

The suspects, detained following over a dozen simultaneous raids by anti-terror units, are believed to have entered the country illegally, after conducting activities on behalf of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, it said.

A total of 14 foreign nationals were detained in İstanbul and 10 in Mersin, including one suspect who was presumed dead, Anadolu said.

ISIS militants fled detention centres in northern Syria following Turkey’s 2019 military incursion targeting Kurdish forces, who were responsible for securing the prisons.

Between 2015 and early 2017, Turkey witnessed a series of ISIS bombings and attacks, which claimed the lives of dozens of civilians in cities across the country.

Source: Ahval News