UPDATE - Turkey arrests 13 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects

UPDATES WITH ANOTHER OPERATION IN KOCAELI

By Ismet Karatas and Metin Girgin

ANKARA / KOCAELI, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces arrested 13 people with suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor in the capital Ankara said seven suspects, who were sought with arrest warrants, were nabbed.

Separately, local police in the northwestern Kocaeli province arrested six Daesh suspects, including four foreign nationals, in the raids across the city, the provincial police headquarters said in a statement.

Police also seized a number of documents and digital materials as well as drugs in the operations.

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 at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks that killed 315 people and injured hundreds more.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.