UPDATE - Turkey arrests 35 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects

UPDATES WITH MORE ARRESTS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Murat Asil, Orhan Onur Gemici, Sertac Bulur, and Halil Demir

KAYSERI, ISTANBUL, ANKARA / Turkey (AA) – Turkish security forces nabbed at least 35 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects in nationwide separate operations launched against terror activities ahead of the New Year holiday, security sources said on Tuesday.

In the central Kayseri province, counter-terror teams began operations against suspects who had entered the country illegally and were suspected of carrying out terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq.

The five suspects – all Syrian and Iraqi nationals – were arrested in simultaneous operations carried out at different locations, the sources said.

Meanwhile, anti-terror police teams launched operations to nab 19 suspects over their alleged links to the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group, according to a statement by the Interior Ministry.

Police carried out simultaneous raids in six provinces – Adana, Ankara, Balikesir, Istanbul, Konya, and Sanliurfa – to reveal the financial resources of the terror group.

Sixteen suspects were rounded up and a large number of digital materials and organizational documents were seized during the raids.

Efforts are underway to apprehend the three fugitive suspects.

Also, five Daesh/ISIS terror suspects, including three Turkish citizens and two foreign nationals, were nabbed in an operation in the capital Ankara, security sources said.

The suspects were accused of providing financial aid to the terrorists in conflict zones, said the sources on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In a separate operation, nine foreign nationals were arrested in Istanbul over their alleged links to Daesh/ISIS, security sources said.

Anti-terror police teams launched an operation to nab the suspects believed to be part of groups planning attacks on behalf of Daesh/ISIS, said the sources, who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A large number of digital materials and organizational documents were also seized during the raids.

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

The country has since been attacked by the terror organization multiple times. It has carried out 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.

* Writing by Merve Aydogan and Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara