UPDATE - Turkey arrests 30 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects

UPDATES HEADLINE, DECK, ADDS OPERATION IN SANLIURFA

By Sertac Bulur and Mehmet Fatih Aslan

ANKARA / SANLIURFA, Turkey (AA) – Turkish security forces on Thursday arrested 23 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects in simultaneous operations in the capital Ankara to prevent terror activities ahead of the New Year's holiday.

Based on intelligence, anti-terror police launched the operations in Ankara to apprehend 30 suspects who were either active Daesh/ISIS members in conflict zones, were in contact with them, or helped them.

According to security sources, 23 of the 30 suspects were arrested in separate operations at different locations.

Efforts are underway to apprehend the remaining fugitive suspects, the sources added.

Separately, in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, Turkish security forces on Thursday nabbed 7 Daesh/ISIS suspects – including six Syrians and one Iraqi national – in an anti-terror operation.

Turkey was one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terror group.

Since then, the terror organization has targeted the country multiple times. The Daesh/ISIS terrorist group is responsible for at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks, killing 315 people and injuring hundreds more.

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