UPDATE - 28 Daesh/ISIS suspects arrested in Turkey

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF ARRESTS, CHANGES HEAD, DECK, LEDE

By Mustafa Hatipoglu, Halil Demir and Tanju Ozkaya

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) – A total of 28 people with suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group were arrested in Turkey on Friday.

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 addresses in 14 districts to nab 35 suspects, said the source, 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, who are accused of being alleged members of the terrorist Daesh/ISIS group, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

A total of 13 suspects were arrested and a search for the remaining suspects is underway in three provinces, it added.

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.