In nationwide raids, Turkey detains 400 IS suspects

06 February,2017 11:24 AM IST |   |  Agencies

Turkish police on Sunday detained some 400 suspected members of the so-called Islamic State in anti-terror raids in six provinces, state media said, the biggest roundup to target the organisation in Turkey



Turkish anti-terrorism police break a door during an operation to arrest people over alleged links to the Islamic State. Pic/AFP

Ankara: Turkish police on Sunday detained some 400 suspected members of the so-called Islamic State in anti-terror raids in six provinces, state media said, the biggest roundup to target the organisation in Turkey.

Those held were mainly foreign nationals, Anadolu news agency said. At least 60 suspects were detained in the capital Ankara, while 150 were arrested in Sanliurfa province near the Syrian border.

In the latest police operations, 30 alleged Islamic State militants were detained in simultaneous counter-terror operations in Konya province, and 10 others were held in Adiyaman province.

Police also detained 18 suspects in Kocaeli and Istanbul, 47 in Gaziantep and 46 others in Bursa province.

In addition to the latest arrests, Turkey says at least 780 people, including 350 foreigners, remain in detention - some of whom have been convicted - over suspected links to the jihadist group.

IS recruiting child refugees
The Islamic State terror group is paying smugglers in an attempt to recruit vulnerable child refugees from countries like Lebanon and Jordan, a UK report has warned. The report from counter-terrorism think-tank Quilliam to be released today claims that an estimated 88,300 unaccompanied children identified by the European Unions police agency Europol as having gone missing are at risk of being radicalised. The report found that ISIS had offered up to 2,000 dollars to recruit within camps in Lebanon and Jordan.

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