Turkey detains 48 Daesh suspects ‘planning attacks’: Report
1,354 terrorists in custody or convicted, says minister
ANKARA: Anti-terror officers in Istanbul and Ankara detained 48 alleged members of Daesh suspected of planning attacks, state media reported on Saturday.
Police detained 31 foreigners who were picked up in anti-terror raids in Istanbul, state-run news agency Anadolu said, without specifying their nationalities. It added that they were believed to have been preparing an attack.
Another 17 people were taken into custody in Ankara over alleged ties to Daesh who were also accused of plotting an attack, the agency reported later on Saturday, without saying when the raids took place.
Turkey suffered a series of terror attacks in 2015 and 2016 as well as one in 2017 blamed on Daesh and Kurdish militants, killing hundreds.
The last attack claimed by Daesh was in January 2017 when a gunman killed 39 people at the elite Istanbul nightclub Reina during new year’s celebrations.
Police have since carried out frequent raids against Daesh across the country, including in the northern province of Samsun on Wednesday, when six Iraqis were detained on suspicion of being members of Daesh.
Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul earlier on Saturday said Turkey had either remanded in custody or convicted 1,354 Daesh suspects.
“Turkey has been fighting terrorism effectively, in line with the constitution and related laws,” he added.
Gul said unity and peace in the country relied on the judiciary.
“The future of the country also relies on justice. The judicial system should be our most protected front.”
Gul said more than four million probes were launched by prosecutors in 2017. More than six million new cases were heard by the high criminal courts in 2017, the minister added.
Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh attacks.
Amid fears that Daesh militants who fled Syria are likely to hit Europe and Turkey, authorities heightened crackdowns against the terrorist group with almost daily operations to net suspected militants, Turkish media reported.