UPDATE - Nearly 640 migrants held across Turkey

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF MIGRANTS HELD; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Ilker Gurel

ANKARA (AA) - At least 637 irregular migrants were held across Turkey, security sources said on Thursday.

In the northwestern Tekirdag province, 53 irregular migrants were held by security forces, said a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In the eastern Erzincan province, police held 34 irregular migrants that entered Turkey illegally.

In another operation, gendarmerie forces held 21 irregular migrants in northwestern Canakkale province.

In the Aegean Aydin province, the Turkish Coast Guard held a group of 11 migrants in a rubber boat off the Menderes Delta.

Separately, security forces held 518 irregular migrants during regular patrols in the northwestern Edirne province -- bordering Greece and Bulgaria.

All the migrants were referred to provincial migration authorities.

Five people were also arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.

Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.

Some 265,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur and Busra Nur Bilgic