Police arrest 20 Daesh suspects in Istanbul

By Halil Demir

ISTANBUL

A total of 20 suspects, including 16 foreigners were arrested during simultaneous operations in Istanbul Thursday for being allegedly linked to Daesh terror group, according to police source.

Police carried out the operations after receiving a tip that the suspects were plotting an attack, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

Nine houses were raided in Istanbul’s Bagcilar, Bayrampasa, Beylikduzu, Kucukcekmece, Umraniye and Pendik districts during the operations.

Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh attacks.

Since August last year, Istanbul police have carried out at least 100 operations and detained nearly 1,000 suspects.