BALIKESIR, Turkey

Turkish police arrested 11 suspects allegedly linked to the Daesh/ISIS terror group in the Aegean Balikesir province, security sources said on Friday.

The arrests came after prosecutors in Balikesir issued arrest warrants for their suspected terror activities in Iraq’s western Anbar province, said sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The police arrested 11 Iraqi nationals, including the terror group’s head of Anbar province, two military and one logistics supervisors and one explosive expert.

Turkey recognized Daesh/ISIS as a terrorist organization in 2013.

Since then, the country has been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists numerous times, including 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings and four armed attacks which killed 315 people and injured hundreds.

In response, Turkey has launched military and police operations inside the country and abroad to prevent terrorist attacks.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar