22 December 2017•Update: 22 December 2017
By Ismail Hakki Demir
KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey
In counter-terrorism operations, police in southern Turkey on Friday arrested at least two foreign nationals for suspected links to Daesh, a police source said.
Anti-terror squads conducted simultaneous operations across the city of Kahramanmaras to find Daesh suspects, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
During the raid, police arrested two Iraqi nationals who were later sent to the police department for investigation.
On Thursday, five Daesh suspects were also arrested in the city.
To date more than 319 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in Turkey, with the terror group targeting civilians with suicide bombings and rocket, and gun attacks.
Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh attacks.
Also, at least 12 suspects were arrested on Thursday and Friday in four Turkish provinces for suspected links to the PKK and other terrorist groups.
Police arrested six alleged PKK members during simultaneous raids on several addresses in the southeastern Siirt province, the governor’s office said.
In the southeastern Hakkari and Sanliurfa provinces, a total of four people were arresting for allegedly spreading terrorist propaganda.
The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that two unarmed PKK terrorists were captured in the southeastern Diyarbakir province on Thursday.
More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.
*Salih Darici, Yilmaz Kazandioglu, Fecri Barlik, Yildiz Nevin Gundogmus contributed to this story.
