Turkey nabs 10 al-Qaeda, Daesh terror suspects

ISTANBUL/OSMANIYE, Turkey

Security teams arrested at least ten suspects in Turkey on Friday as part of anti-terror operations against Daesh and al-Qaeda terror groups.

Anti-terror police launched simultaneous operations at 10 different places in Istanbul against the terrorist organizations, said security sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In several raids conducted in Istanbul's Esenyurt, Bagcilar, Fatih, Kucukcekmece, Sisli, and Sultanbeyli districts, counter-terror teams arrested seven out of 10 wanted suspects.

A search for the remaining three suspects continues. Four of the seven suspects were foreign nationals, said the sources, adding digital materials and documents were also seized during the operations.

Separately, gendarmerie units in the southern Osmaniye province conducted simultaneous operations at three different addresses as part of a probe against Daesh/ISIS suspects who have engaged in armed activity in Syria.

At least three suspects of Syrian nationalities were arrested during the operations, according to the security sources.

A large number of digital materials related to the terror group were also seized during the operations.

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.