27 Daesh terror suspects arrested in Turkey's Ankara, Trabzon
| File Photo


Turkish police on Monday arrested 27 Daesh-linked terror suspects during counterterrorism operations in the capital and in northern Trabzon province.

Anti-terrorism police teams in Ankara arrested 22 Daesh suspects, 17 of whom were Iraqi nationals and five of whom were Syrians.

In Trabzon, police arrested five suspects -- identified by the initials O.Y., E.U., S.Y.K., A.S. and A.Z.N. -- who were accused of making propaganda on social media for the terror group, according to the local police department.

Apart from Turkish liras, police also seized foreign currencies as well as some digital documents during the search.

Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to rid Turkey of Daesh terrorists. The terrorist group is blamed for a string of terror attacks in Turkey that killed at leasst 319 people over the past three years in Istanbul and Ankara as well as cities in the southeast.

Foreigners looking to join Daesh in Syria have mostly attempted to use Turkey as their crossing point. Turkey has taken significant measures against foreign Daesh members and has urged Western countries for intelligence cooperation.

According to official figures, at least 2,000 people have been arrested and 7,000 others deported in operations against Daesh in Turkey, while around 70,000 people have been denied entry to Turkey over their suspected links to the terrorist group.

Security forces have also foiled at least 10 attack plots. Figures show that some 18,500 suspects are currently being monitored for links to the terrorist group after being identified at airports upon arrival.