Turkey arrests 7 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects

By Sertac Bulur and Kadir Yildiz

ANKARA/KOCAELI, Turkey (AA) - At least seven people were arrested in Turkey for their alleged links to Daesh/ISIS terror group, security sources said on Tuesday.

Turkish gendarmerie teams arrested four women, including the wife of a so-called emir of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group, in southern Hatay province, said the sources, who asked not to be named, due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Security forces in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli were investigating the four suspects, who allegedly entered Turkey from Syria.

The suspects, who have allegedly fought for Daesh/ISIS in Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor in Syria since 2014, were arrested in Hatay and were brought to Kocaeli.

Separately, in the Turkish capital Ankara, police arrested three Daesh/ISIS suspects in anti-terror operations.

Two of suspects, who are Syrians, were arrested after the duo were allegedly planning to send an electronic device to Daesh/ISIS members in the conflict zones.

Turkey recognized Daesh/ISIS as a terrorist group in 2013. Since then, the country has been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists numerous times, including 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings, and four armed attacks which killed 315 people and injured hundreds.

In response, Turkey has launched military and police operations inside the country and abroad to prevent terrorist attacks.