UPDATE - 8 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects arrested in Turkey

UPDATES WITH ARREST OF WANTED DAESH TERRORIST, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Halil Demir and Gozde Bayar

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (AA) – Turkish security forces arrested eight people suspected of having links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, security sources said on Friday.

Seven of the suspects were involved in various activities for the terror group and also providing financial support, the sources said, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

They were arrested in simultaneous operations in the country's Istanbul, Manisa, and Hatay provinces.

A large number of digital materials and organizational documents was seized in the raids, the sources added.

Separately, four people trying to enter Turkey illegally from Syria were caught on the southern Hatay border, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Twitter.

It added that one of the four people was a suspect sought with red notice over alleged links with Daesh/ISIS.

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

The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 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.