Turkish police detain 16 suspects over al-Nusra links

ADIYAMAN – Doğan News Agency

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Some 16 people were detained on March 30 in Turkey’s southeastern province of Adıyaman over alleged links to Jabhat al-Nusra.

The detentions were made as anti-terror police teams, along with the gendarmerie, carried out simultaneous operations on 20 addresses early in the morning. The teams captured 16 people for allegedly recruiting for the organization, while four people are reported to now be on the run. 

After health checks at a hospital, the suspects were sent to a police station to be interrogated.

Operating in mostly in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey since 2014. Turkey recently stepped up measures against militants linked to al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), whose members have established cells in a number of cities across the country.