Turkish police detain 45 IS suspects in 16 cities

Istanbul, July 5 (IANS) Turkish police have detained 45 suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) in nationwide operations, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.

Yerlikaya did not specify the timeframe for these operations but said they unfolded across 16 cities, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and others. Authorities seized digital materials, Turkish lira, and foreign currency during raids on the suspects' premises, Xinhua news agency reported.

Turkish police have been regularly conducting counter-terrorism operations against IS members across the country.

The Turkish government designated IS as a terrorist organisation in 2013, blaming it for a spate of deadly attacks in the country since 2015, including a January attack on a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul that killed one person.

Turkey's southern border with Syria has been a major transit route for Syrians and foreign fighters since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.

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