 during operations carried out across 35 provinces over the past two weeks, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing the interior ministry.){kind=link}
Turkish authorities detained 184 people over alleged links to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL) during operations carried out across 35 provinces over the past two weeks, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing the interior ministry.
According to a statement from the ministry, the operations were conducted in coordination with the intelligence department and counterterrorism unit of the Security Directorate General and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
The raids were carried out by the counterterrorism branches of provincial police departments under the supervision of chief public prosecutors’ offices.
The ministry said the suspects were accused of involvement in ISIL activities, being the subjects of outstanding arrest warrants or providing financial support to the group.
Of the 184 detainees, 22 were arrested by the court, while 33 were released under judicial supervision. Legal proceedings for the remaining suspects are ongoing.
Authorities also seized eight unlicensed handguns and one unlicensed rifle as well as numerous documents and digital materials related to the group during the operations.
Turkey stepped up operations against suspected ISIL members after three police officers were killed in a shootout during a raid in the northwestern province of Yalova in December.
Six suspected ISIL militants were killed along with the three officers, while eight police officers and a neighborhood night watchman were wounded when the suspects opened fire during the raid.
Turkey shares a long border with Syria and has faced repeated ISIL attacks over the past decade, including a January 1, 2017, nightclub shooting in İstanbul during New Year’s celebrations that killed 39 people.