Turkey detains 14 ISIL suspects 'planning election attack'

ANKARA

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Turkish authorities on June 21 detained in Ankara 14 suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group accused of planning an attack on elections this weekend, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.    

The 14, all foreign nationals, were detained in simultaneous morning raids on their residences in the capital, the news agency said.    

The report said large amounts of material were seized in the raids. But it gave no details on the nature of the attack’s timing and location, or the nationality of the suspects.    

Voters will head to the polls on June 24. Six candidates are running for president while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.

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

The last major attack in Turkey attributed to ISIL was the New Year massacre by an Uzbek gunman at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul just minutes into 2017. The assault left 39 dead.