Istanbul police detain 38 foreign nationals in operations against ISIL

ISTANBUL

Istanbul police’s anti-terror units on Aug. 3 detained a total of 38 foreign nationals in simultaneous operations in the province’s six districts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The suspects were planning terror attacks, according to local media.

During the raids at 12 separate addresses across the city, the police also seized documents and digital materials.

The detained suspects are being questioned at the police headquarters.

More than 300 people have lost their lives in ISIL-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the group has targeted civilians with suicide bombs, rockets, and gun attacks.

Security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to rid Turkey of ISIL militants.

Last month, security forces detained 43 people in Istanbul for alleged links to ISIL.

The suspects were detained for their alleged links to “engagement areas” of the group and membership in social media groups linked to ISIL, the authorities said.

Earlier this month, a court in the Central Anatolian province of Kırşehir on Aug. 2 slapped five convicts with various jail terms for membership in ISIL.

The local heavy penal court sentenced Khalid Hayrettin Ismail Horuc, an alleged ISIL “emir” of Iraq’s northern city of Tal-Afar, to eight years and nine months in prison, along with his brother Samir Ismail Horuc.