Report: Turkey detains 29 IS militants in raids in Istanbul
Posted July 7, 2017 2:21 am.
Last Updated July 7, 2017 5:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish police detained 29 suspected Islamic State group militants in raids in Istanbul on Friday, the country’s state-run news agency reported.
Anadolu Agency said 22 of the militants detained are foreign nationals, but the report didn’t provide details on their nationalities. Seven of them are Turkish citizens.
The suspects were detained in a police swoop targeting 20 different addresses around Istanbul, the agency reported. Police seized IS documents, digital material and one firearm during the raids.
It said the suspects are believed to have fought with IS in Syria and were making plans to return to the conflict-torn country.
Turkey has been hit by a series of deadly attacks carried out by IS or Kurdish militants and has stepped up anti-terrorism operations across the country. About 750 people with alleged IS links were detained in a major police sweep earlier this year.
IS claimed responsibility for a New Year’s mass shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people.
