UPDATE - Over 570 irregular migrants held across Turkey

UPDATES HEADLINE, LEDE, ADDS NEW RESCUE OPERATIONS

By Hasan Huseyin Kulaoglu and Jeyhun Aliyev

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (AA) - At least 571 irregular migrants were held across Turkey, local authorities said on Friday.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said on Twitter that 436 irregular migrants, including 170 Afghan nationals, were held across 16 districts on Thursday.

They were handed over to the local migration office for deportation procedures, he added.

Meanwhile, acting on a tip, a total of 32 irregular migrants -- who were pushed back by the Greek Coast Guard into Turkish territorial waters -- were rescued in a rubber boat off the coast of the Cesme district in the western Izmir province.

Another coast guard team was dispatched off Urla district in Izmir after learning that a group of asylum seekers had been stranded on a boat.

As a result, 90 irregular migrants and two alleged human traffickers were held by coast guard teams, said a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

They were later taken to the provincial migration office.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any country in the world, is taking new security measures within and on its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants.