The Turkish General Staff announced Tuesday that 25 suspected Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) members, including 20 foreign nationals, were detained on Monday as they were trying to illegally cross into Syria from Turkey's southern province of Kilis.
The suspects were detained in the Elbeyli district, an area located north of the segment of Syrian border currently controlled by ISIS.
On July 23, a Turkish sergeant was killed in the province of Kilis by ISIS militants trying to cross into Turkey, which then heavily responded to the attack with artillery and airstrikes on ISIS positions and fortifications near Elbeyli.
Since the official declaration on Oct. 10, 2013, which defined ISIS as a terrorist organization, Prime Ministry sources indicated that more than 1,500 people have been deported and 15,000 people from 98 countries have been barred from entering Turkey. Statistical data released by official sources also show that since the first day of 2015, Turkish security forces have detained more than 500 individuals for suspected links to ISIS. Courts have also handed down prison sentences to approximately 100 individuals on charges of terrorism.
Meanwhile, the General Staff also announced on Tuesday that 34 PKK members were killed in its latest air strikes on the group's camps in northern Iraq's Qandil mountain region.
