UPDATE - Over 240 undocumented migrants held in Turkey

UPDATES WITH ANOTHER 23 MIGRANTS HELD IN BODRUM; CHANGES NUMBERS IN HEADLINE AND LEDE

By Mustafa Yildirim, Ahmet Bayram and Emine Ezgi Yesil

ANKARA, Turkey (AA) – Turkish security forces on Thursday apprehended at least 246 undocumented migrants and rescued 38 others, security officials said.

In western Izmir province’s Cesme district, Turkish Coast Guards held 61 people, including 57 Syrian, three Yemeni nationals and one from Somalia, said a security source, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media.

Women and children were among the detainees as they attempted to illegally go to Greece via the Aegean Sea, the source added.

Another 25 Afghan, Ghanaian, and Eritrean nationals, who attempted to illegally reach the Greek island of Lesbos, were held in the Izmir province’s Dikili district.

Seven Syrian refugees were also apprehended by Coast Guards in Izmir province.

They also rescued 38 undocumented migrants in the Aegean Sea, off the Izmir province’s Seferihisar district, another security source said, adding that the migrants were heading for the Greek islands.

In the northwestern Canakkale province’s Ayvacik district, another 101 foreigners, including women and children, were held after having been located by drones, a gendarmerie source, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

The Syrian and Afghan nationals also intended to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, the source added.

Separately, border guards detained 24 Syrian refugees, including women and children, during controls in the southern Hatay province, another security source said.

Also, in the northwestern Edirne province, gendarmerie forces detained five Pakistani nationals during an anti-human trafficking operation, said a security official who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Two suspects were also arrested for alleged human trafficking, the source added.

Another 23 Syrian nationals were rounded up at a hotel in Bodrum district of southwestern Mugla province.

The migrants, including women and children, had been living in Turkey on a temporary residence permit and were preparing to go to Europe through illegal ways, according to security sources.

They have been referred to the Bodrum migration authority.