ISTANBUL

A total of 18 Daesh/ISIS linked suspects were detained early Wednesday in an operation against the terrorist group in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.

Teams of the Istanbul police’s counterterrorism branch began working to decipher the activities of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization.

After the work, addresses were raided throughout the city.

In the operation, which was also supported by special operations police, 18 suspects were detained and addresses were searched.

The suspects were taken to a police station.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terror group.

The country has since been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists multiple times, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

*Writing by Merve Berker