ISTANBUL, Dec 30 — The Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against the Islamic State, or Daesh, on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkiye.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said that the authorities 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 over 100 suspected Daesh members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks.
In a statement, it added that 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. Various digital materials and documents were also seized.
Turkiye has stepped up operations against suspected IS militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally.
The United States (US) carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by Daesh, Australian police have said.
On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkiye, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city's main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkey was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Daesh, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
The police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years, and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015 and 2017.
