UPDATE - Turkey nabs 12 foreign nationals over Daesh/ISIS links

UPDATES WITH MORE ARRESTS, CHANGES DECK, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Halil Demir and Hacer Ozturk

ISTANBUL / ORDU, Turkey (AA) – Turkish forces arrested 12 foreign nationals for suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, security sources said on Wednesday.

Anti-terror teams carried out simultaneous operations in 12 districts of Istanbul to nab 16 foreign nationals who were active in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, said a source, asking not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The arrests were made after authorities issued warrants for 18 suspects, the source said.

Two more foreign nationals believed to be linked to Daesh/ISIS were arrested in northern Ordu province.

Intelligence and security units had been surveilling suspected members of the terror group, according to another source.

Teams carried out simultaneous raids on four locations and arrested two Iraqi nationals, the source said.

A large number of digital materials and organizational documents were seized in the operations in Istanbul and Ordu.

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

It 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.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar and Merve Aydogan in Ankara