On December 30, Turkish police arrested 110 suspects in an operation targeting the Islamic State (IS) organization, according to a statement from the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office.
The operation took place after a serious shootout in the northwestern region of the country that killed 3 policemen and 6 gunmen.
Previously, police surrounded a house in the town of Yalova, located on the coast of Marmara, south of Istanbul for 8 hours. This raid injured 8 policemen and 1 other security force member. This is one of more than 100 locations targeted by Turkish authorities simultaneously the day before.
In the latest operation, security forces searched 114 addresses in Istanbul and 2 other provinces. In total, 110 out of 115 suspects wanted have been temporarily detained. The prosecution agency said that many documents and related digital data have been seized during the investigation.
The campaign took place just 1 week after more than 100 others were arrested on charges of conspiracy to carry out attacks during Christmas and New Year. Authorities believe IS is showing signs of increasing operations again globally, forcing Turkey to strengthen security measures.
Nearly a decade ago, IS was accused of carrying out a series of serious attacks in Turkey, including shootings targeting Istanbul's main airport and a nightclub in the city, killing dozens of people. During the conflict in Syria, Turkey was an important transit point for foreign fighters.
In the following years, Turkish security forces continuously launched raids. Thanks to this, the number of attacks has decreased sharply compared to the previous peak period of violence.
