Turkish security forces detained a total of 2,698 migrants in nationwide operations, officials said Wednesday.
In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said Turkish border guards rounded up 1,632 migrants attempting to illegally enter Turkey from Syria. Seven others were also found trying to cross into Syria from Turkey, it said.
Security forces held 12 more migrants, who were trying to illegally enter Turkey from Iraq and another four for attempting to enter Iran.
The statement also said that a total of 171 undocumented migrants were found attempting to cross Turkey-Greece border illegally.
Another 625 migrants trying to illegally enter Greece and Bulgaria were held in northwestern Edirne province, a security official told Anadolu Agency. The migrants included Moroccan, Pakistani, Afghan, Egyptian, Syrian and Myanmar nationals.
Three smugglers were arrested, while the migrants were transferred to Edirne migration authority after procedures.
In central Sivas province, gendarmerie caught 126 migrants from a bus, which was stopped at a checkpoint in Akıncılar district, a security official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, told Anadolu Agency.
The suspects included 104 Afghan and 22 Pakistani nationals, the official added.
In northern Kastamonu province's Tosya district, security forces stopped an Istanbul-bound bus near Sapaca village and held 121 migrants, including Pakistanis, Afghans and Senegalese, another official told Anadolu Agency.
