Istanbul police detain 31 ISIL suspects, foreign nationals 'plotting attack'

ISTANBUL

Turkish police have detained 31 suspected Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) members in Istanbul who were preparing to launch an attack, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Feb. 10.

Police raided six addresses in three districts of the city, Anadolu said, without giving details on when the operations were carried out.

All of those detained were foreign nationals, the agency added.

Officers seized digital material and documents during the operation, Anadolu said.

Turkish police stepped up operations against ISIL suspects at the end of last year before the first anniversary of a New Year gun attack on a nightclub in Istanbul in which 39 people were killed.

ISIL claimed responsibility for that shooting, one of a series of attacks believed to have been carried out by the jihadists in Turkey in recent years.