Turkey arrests 9 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects

ADDS OPERATON IN KUTAHYA

By Recep Bilek and Ramazan Dogan

SAMSUN / KUTAHYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces arrested nine people with suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, according to security sources Thursday.

Provincial anti-terror teams in the Black Sea province of Samsun nabbed five Iraqi nationals in simultaneous operations, said sources who did not want to be named.

Under directions of the local prosecutor's office, three suspects were deported following their testimonies.

Police also seized digital material from the residences of the suspects.

Separately, anti-terror teams in western Kutahya province nabbed four foreign Daesh suspects in an operation.

The suspects identified by initials A.A., B.A., R.D. and T.S., were listed as members of terror groups in a document seized in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province in 2018, according to security sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

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

It has since been attacked multiple times by Daesh/ISIS terrorists, with at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed attacks that have killed 315 people and injured hundreds more.

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