Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against Islamic State on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkey, the Istanbul chief prosecutors office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova. It is located on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul. This occurred a week after more than 100 suspected IS members were detained. They were connected to alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks.
Eight police officers were wounded in the raid on the property. Another security force member was also injured. This property was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces. They arrested 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought. This information came from the prosecutor’s statement.
It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkey has stepped up operations against suspected IS militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally.
The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by IS, Australian police have said.
On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkey, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, killing dozens of people.
Turkey was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of IS, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
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