7 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects arrested in Turkey

By Tanju Ozkaya, Cankut Tasdan, and Arif Yavuz

ANKARA/AFYONKARAHISAR, Turkey (AA) - At least seven people with suspected links to the Daesh terrorist organization, also known as ISIS, were arrested across Turkey.

According to a statement by the chief prosecutor's office in the capital Ankara, three of six suspects with arrest warrants were nabbed in an Ankara-centered operation conducted simultaneously in four provinces.

Efforts are underway to arrest the remaining three suspects.

Separately, counter-terrorism police carried out an operation to nab two suspects of Tunisian nationality with arrest warrants in the western province of Afyonkarahisar, the local chief prosecutor's office said.

Two Syrian nationals, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to over two years in prison for assisting the terror group, were also detained at the same address.

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

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara