UPDATE - Turkey: Police arrest dozens of Daesh suspects

UPDATES WITH OPERATION IN SOUTHERN ADANA PROVINCE, MINOR EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Abidin Mutlu Bozdag, Zafer Arslan, Abdullah Ozkul

ISTANBUL (AA) - Istanbul police arrested at least 82 foreign nationals midnight Friday on suspicion of having links to the Daesh terrorist organization.

During a counterterrorism operation targeting Daesh suspects, the police conducted simultaneous raids in Bagcilar, Beykoz, Fatih, Kucukcekmece, Pendik, Sancaktepe, and Sisli districts of Istanbul.

The arrestees were reportedly planning to cross into Syria to fight for Daesh. They will be sent to court, Istanbul Police Department said.

In a separate operation early Friday, anti-terrorist police arrested 11 Syrian nationals over suspected ties with Daesh in the southern province of Adana.

Raiding a number of addresses in the city center, police also seized a shotgun and 48 packs of smuggled cigarettes.

Over 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed brutal attacks in Turkey that includes suicide bombs, rocket and gun attacks.

Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh attacks. Since August last year, Istanbul police have carried out at least 100 operations and detained nearly 1,000 suspects.