Turkey arrests 101 Islamic State suspects in anti-terror sweep

Turkish police have detained more than 100 Islamic State suspects following mass raids across the capital Ankara.

1 min read

09 November, 2017

Turkish police conducted raids across the capital [Getty]

Turkish police detained 101 Islamic State suspects in a vast anti-terror operation in the capital Ankara, state media reported on Thursday.

A total of 1,500 police officers took part in the raids across the Turkish capital after authorities issued arrest warrants for 245 suspects, state-run news agency Anadolu said.

The raids took place at 250 addresses where documents and digital material were found, the agency said, without giving further details.

Last month dozens of suspects from the group were detained across the country including 49 alleged members of IS in Ankara, some of whom were suspected of planning an attack.

Turkey has been hit by a series of attacks blamed on IS extremists in the past two years, including one on an elite Istanbul nightclub over New Year where 39 people were killed by an IS gunman.

Although there has been a lull in attacks since January, Turkish police have conducted raids almost daily against IS cells across the country.