UPDATE - 229 migrants held in Turkey

UPDATES WITH 144 MIGRANTS DETAINED IN EDIRNE; REVISED HEADLINE; CORRECTS LOCATION OF EDIRNE IN PARA. 4; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Osman Akca, Salih Baran, and Ilhami Erkilic, and Hakan Mehmet Sahin

MUGLA / EDIRNE / ERZURUM, Turkey (AA) - Some 229 migrants, including Syrian nationals, were held during operations across three provinces on Monday, security sources said.

Gendarmerie forces followed two school buses in the Gavoroglu district of the southwestern Mugla province, which led to the discovery of 48 Iraqis and 27 Syrians hiding in the woods. The bus drivers were also detained, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The migrants had reportedly paid $3,000-5,000 per person to take the buses, after which they planned to sail to Rhodes, Greece and later to Italy, the sources added.

Separately, in the northwestern Edirne province, four migrants were arrested by border guards. Two of them were Syrian nationals trying to illegally cross the Greek border, the sources added.

One of the migrants, identified by the initials H.Y.Y., had been fired from his teaching job for sympathizing with PKK terrorists.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians.

Also, in the eastern Erzurum province, six foreign nationals who illegally entered Turkey were detained, the local governor’s office said.

Separately, 144 migrants trying to go abroad were detained in northwestern Turkey on Monday, according to security sources.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said the migrants are nationals of Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

They were trying to illegally cross the border to Greece or Bulgaria via the northwestern Edirne province, the sources added.

The migrants were taken to the Edirne Migration Management Directorate.