UPDATE - 35 Daesh/ISIS suspects arrested in capital Ankara

ADDS DAESH/ISIS ARRESTS IN DUZCE PROVINCE OF TURKEY, REMANDING OF OTHER SUSPECTS IN OSMANIYE

By Muhammed Nuri Erdogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish police and intelligence service arrested 35 Iraqi nationals in the capital Ankara on Tuesday over their alleged links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, according to security sources.

The provincial police in Ankara and the Turkish intelligence service conducted a joint operation after receiving information about 40 suspects having links to the terror group Daesh/ISIS, which is active in conflict zones. An operation is ongoing to nab the remaining suspects.

In a separate operation, police officers in Duzce province nabbed three Daesh suspects as part of a probe launched by the provincial prosecutor’s office. The operation is ongoing as one of the suspects is yet to be caught.

The suspects, who are of Iraqi origin, are accused of acting as “fighters” under the banner of the terror group; one of them was deported following arrest.

Also, three Daesh suspects of Syrian origin -- arrested on Dec. 25 -- were remanded in the southern Osmaniye province of Turkey. They are accused of taking part in armed acts of the terror in Syria.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist group.

The country has since been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists multiple times, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.