94 ISIS suspects detained in nationwide pre-New Year raids

Duvar English / Reuters

Turkishpolice detained 94 people suspected of ties to ISIS in nationwideraids on Dec. 30 ahead of New Year celebrations, police and statemedia said, two months after the group’s leader Abu Bakral-Baghdadi was killed.

Policehave rounded up jihadist militants in late December in the last twoyears, since New Year's Day in 2017 when a gunman killed 39 people inan Istanbul nightclub in an attack claimed by the militant group.

Counter-terrorpolice carried out the operations in the provinces of Ankara, Kayseriand Adana and Batman, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.Istanbul police said it also made detentions.

At5 a.m. local time in Batman, some 400 police officers detained 22people in simultaneous raids on various addresses, seizing weapons,ammunition and documents, Anadolu Agency said.

Itsaid 30 Iraqis, two Syrians and one Moroccan were detained in Ankara.Nine Iraqi citizens who had operated in Syria and Iraq were detainedin Kayseri, while four Syrian and two Iraqi citizens were detained inAdana, it added.

Istanbulpolice said 20 Turks and four foreign nationals were captured inseparate raids aimed to prevent potential attacks by the group aheadof New Year’s.

U.S.President Donald Trump announced on Oct. 27 that ISIS leader Baghdadihad been killed in a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria,near the Turkish border.

Twodays later, Turkish police detained dozens of ISIS suspects believedto have been plotting attacks targeting celebrations of Turkey’sRepublic Day celebrations.

Thegovernment has said it will have repatriated most of its ISISdetainees to their home countries by the end of the year.

Ankara had accused the European countries of being too slow to take back their citizens who traveled to the Middle East to join ISIS.