Turkish police detained 357 suspects in an operation against the Islamic State (ISIS) on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six terrorists were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkey, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected ISIS members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year terror attacks.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities carried out raids in 21 provinces across the country.
"Just as we have never given an opportunity to those who try to bring this country to its knees with terrorism, we will never give them an opportunity in the future either," he said on X.
Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday's operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor's statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkey has stepped up operations against suspected ISIS terrorists this year, as the group returns to prominence globally.
The US carried out a strike against the terrorists in northwest Nigeria last week. On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Trend of militants attacking police forces
Last Monday, five members of Pakistan’s police were killed when their van came under a combined bombing and shooting attack in the country’s northwest, provincial police said, as Pakistan contends with a renewed wave of militant activity.
According to provincial police, the vehicle was first hit by improvised explosive devices before assailants opened fire, killing four officers and the driver. No organization has claimed responsibility for the assault.
The incident occurred in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an area that has seen relatively fewer militant strikes, and comes as relations between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan have deteriorated amid rising violence.
Both countries have struggled to maintain calm following their worst border confrontations since the Taliban assumed power in Kabul, with Islamabad alleging that militants are using Afghan territory to plan attacks.