739 arrested, 4,765 detained in Turkey’s 2017 fight against ISIL

MALATYA – Anadolu Agency

Some 739 people were arrested and 4,765 detained in Turkey in 2017 over suspected links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to data gathered by Anadolu Agency.

Last March, Turkey successfully concluded the Euphrates Shield Operation in Northern Syria, which began in August 2016.

Headed by Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters, the operation aimed to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border.

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters took Al-Bab, which lies 40 kilometers northeast of Aleppo, from ISIL in February last year during Operation Euphrates Shield.

In the wide-ranging operation launched in August 2016, the FSA, together with the support of the Turkish army, has cleared 2,000 square kilometers of land along the Turkish-Syrian border.

More than 300 people have lost their lives in ISIL-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the terror organization has targeted civilians in suicide bomb, rocket and gun attacks.