Turkish police have detained around 800 people in operations targeting alleged members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the largest crackdown on the terrorist group thus far.
The operations took place across 29 provinces on Sunday. In addition to the detention of hundreds of suspects, most of whom are foreign nationals, police teams also seized documents, digital materials and ammunition belonging to the armed group during the raids.
A statement released by the National Police Department said on Monday that ISIL was seeking to carry out sensational attacks in Turkey.
ISIL has conducted a series of deadly attacks in Turkey in recent years that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
Most recently, ISIL claimed responsibility for a New Year’s Eve attack on the Reina nightclub in İstanbul in which 39 people were killed.
Police arrested the suspected attacker, Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, on Jan. 16, and authorities say he has confessed to the massacre.