ANKARA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Tuesday detained 51 suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) group in nationwide operations, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

Yerlikaya said on social media platform X that the suspects were detained in 17 provinces, including Istanbul, Antalya, Gaziantep, and Afyonkarahisar.

Türkiye has stepped up operations against IS terrorists after the group attacked an Istanbul church in late January, killing a civilian during Sunday mass.

The IS group operates a network in Türkiye, which recruits more foreign members for its activities despite constant counterterrorism operations, according to security sources.

The Turkish government designated the IS as a terrorist organization in 2013 and blamed it for a spate of deadly attacks in the country since 2015.

In December last year, Turkish intelligence and security forces captured a top IS terrorist in charge of the group's finances in an operation in Türkiye's southeastern province of Mersin. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)