Istanbul : Turkish police have detained 45 suspected members of the Islamic State( IS) in civil operations, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday. Yerlikaya didn't specify the timeframe for these operations but said they unfolded across 16 metropolises, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and others.
Authorities seized digital accoutrements , Turkish lira, and foreign currency during raids on the suspects ’ demesne, Xinhua news agency reported. Turkish police have been regularly conducting counter-terrorism operations against IS members across the country.
The Turkish government designated IS as a terrorist organisation in 2013, condemning it for a torrent of deadly attacks in the country since 2015, including a January attack on a Roman unqualified church in Istanbul that killed one person. Turkey’s southern border with Syria has been a major conveyance route for Syrians and foreign fighters since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.