Turkish police on Tuesday arrested 16 suspects with links to Daesh terror group in separate operations in central Kayseri, northwestern Kocaeli, and southeastern Şanlıurfa provinces.
Kayseri Police's anti-terror branch teams at dawn raided addresses of individuals suspected of carrying out operational activities for Daesh.
According to Demirören News Agency, six Syrian and four Iraqi nationals were detained for questioning.
In Kocaeli, anti-terror police teams carried out operations Tuesday morning in the Izmit, Başiskele and Gebze districts. Four Daesh-linked suspects were detained.
In Şanlıurfa, two female terrorists were captured in an operation in Akçakale district on the Turkish-Syrian border, according to a security source who asked not to be named to due restrictions on speaking to the media.
The terrorists, identified by the initials C.B. and B.S., were trying to cross into Turkey, the source added.
Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to rid Turkey of Daesh terrorists. The terrorist group is blamed for a string of terror attacks in Turkey that killed dozens of people over the past three years in Istanbul and Ankara as well as cities in the southeast.
Military operations in Syria and Iraq led to a rapid decline in Daesh territories and the number of its militants. Turkey helped the Syrian moderate opposition, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), to regain control of a number of Daesh-controlled towns in an operation in 2016.
Foreigners looking to join Daesh in Syria have mostly attempted to use Turkey as their crossing point. Turkey has taken significant measures against foreign Daesh members and has urged Western countries for intelligence cooperation.
According to official figures, some 2,000 people were arrested and 7,000 others deported in operations against Daesh in Turkey, while around 70,000 people were denied entry to Turkey over their suspected links to the terrorist group.
Security forces have also foiled at least 10 attack plots. Figures show that some 18,500 suspects are currently being monitored for links to the terrorist group after being identified at airports upon arrival.
