Turkish authorities detained 115 suspected members of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) terrorist group on Thursday, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police said they received information that members of the group were planning attacks in the country during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office said. said in a statement Posted on X.
The statement said special police units conducted simultaneous raids at 124 locations in Istanbul and detained 115 of the 137 suspects they were looking for.
It said several pistols and ammunition were seized during the raid. The police’s anti-terrorism operation is still going on.
Extremist groups are still active in Syria
Turkey, which shares more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) of border with Syria, has vowed to continue support for Syria’s fight against extremist groups including IS.
Ankara has been a strong supporter of the interim government in Damascus since the overthrow of former dictator Bashar Assad last year.
Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once had links to al-Qaeda, has vowed to distance himself from extremist groups in an effort to build unity in the country.
Although IS has lost most of its influence and territory in Syria, the terrorist group remains active as a loose-knit network rather than a self-declared caliphate with control over cities and regions.
This week, Turkish intelligence agency conducted an operation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and captured a Turkish citizen. According to the agency, this person held a senior role in the Islamic State group.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko