Five suspects linked to Daesh were arrested in a counterterrorism operation carried out by Istanbul police Friday, security sources confirmed.

The raids resulted in the capture of 12 foreign nationals in Istanbul's four districts, Silivri, Bağcılar, Maltepe and Güngören. They were suspected to be attempting to travel to conflict zones, the sources, on condition of anonymity said. A large amount of digital data and documents were also seized during the operation.

Daesh has carried out a string of terror attacks in Turkey over the past two years.

Turkey is tackling an influx of foreign fighters looking to sneak into Syria and Iraq, where Daesh controlled towns and a large swathe of territories.

Since Daesh's emergence, Turkey has detained over 5,000 Daesh suspects, deported over 3,290 foreign terrorist fighters from 95 countries, and refused entry to more than 38,269 individuals, in anti-terror drives.

Turkey also launched Operation Euphrates Shield last year and backed Syrian opposition groups fighting Daesh in Syria.

The operation, taking place between August 2016 and April 2017, saw the liberation of the Syrian towns of Jarablus, al-Rai, Dabiq and al-Bab from Daesh control.