UPDATE 2 - 29 Daesh/ISIS suspects arrested in Turkey

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF ARRESTS, CHANGES HEAD, LEDE

By Mustafa Hatipoglu, Halil Demir, Tanju Ozkaya and Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) – A total of 29 people with suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group were arrested in Turkey on Thursday.

Fifteen foreign nationals, including members of Daesh/ISIS terror group who were allegedly plotting a terror attack on New Year's Eve, were arrested in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul, according to security sources.

Anti-terror police teams in Istanbul launched simultaneous operations at 34 places in 14 districts to nab 35 suspects, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Separately, prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 15 people accused of being members of the terrorist Daesh/ISIS group, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The police arrested 14 suspects, including 10 in Ankara, three in Bursa and one in Yozgat provinces, it said, adding a search for the remaining suspects is underway.

Two unlicensed shotguns and cartridges were seized during the raids, it noted.

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