BALIKESIR, Turkey

Turkish gendarmerie forces arrested at least 14 people across eight provinces Monday who are suspected of having links to the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization. 

The Chief Prosecutor's Office in northwestern Balikesir province issued arrest warrants for the suspects over their alleged affiliation with and financing of the terror group from 2018-2019.

Local gendarmerie forces in Balikesir, the capital Ankara, northwestern Bursa province and Istanbul, as well as western Izmir province and the central provinces of Konya, Nevsehir and Sakarya conducted simultaneous operations to arrest the suspects, said security sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A large number of organizational documents along with digital materials were also seized by Turkish security units.

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

The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 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.