Police in Turkey have arrested 189 people suspected of being Daesh extremists in raids across 37 cities and
provinces, officials said on Saturday.
The detentions come a day after Ankara said it thwarted planned Daesh attacks on synagogues and churches in Turkey, which has in the past witnessed several deadly terrorist attacks linked to the extremist group.
Police raided addresses Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, among other cities, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on social media platform X, sharing images of alleged Daesh operatives being handcuffed in their apartments in night raids.
3️⃣7️⃣ İlde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik eş zamanlı olarak düzenlenen “KAHRAMANLAR-38” Operasyonlarında 1️⃣8️⃣9️⃣ şahıs yakalandı❗
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 30, 2023
Aziz Milletimizin Bilmesini isterim ki;
Ülkemizin huzuru, birlik ve beraberliği için teröristlerin hiçbirine göz açtırmayacağız. Milletimizin duası,… pic.twitter.com/4hsQsI7zfc
A day earlier, Turkish officials said they had arrested 32 suspected Daesh members allegedly involved in plotting an attack on the Iraqi embassy. The nationalities of the detained and the details of the purported attack plans were still unclear.
The so-called Daesh group claimed responsibility for a 2017 Istanbul nightclub attack, which killed 39 New Year's Eve revellers.
Ankara has since been routinely targeting Daesh suspects.