Police detain four in Istanbul anti-Daesh raids

ISTANBUL

Turkish police detained four suspects linked to the Daesh terrorist group in early-morning raids in Istanbul on Friday.

According to security sources, squads from Istanbul police's Anti-Terror Branch mounted simultaneous raids on a number of addresses in the Bagcilar district, accompanied by special operation teams.

The operation was conducted to catch five suspects who allegedly aided both Turkish and foreign nationals to travel to Iraq and Syria, said police.

There is an ongoing operation to catch a final suspect, added police.

Officers also seized five mobile phones, a laptop and two tablet computers as well as 18 hard disks at the addresses.

Images from the scene showed at least one squad of masked and armed officers going through a ground-floor entrance.

Since July, security forces in the country have been conducting anti-terrorist operations across Turkey after a Daesh suicide bombing killed dozens of people in Suruc, Sanliurfa province on July 20. Another terrorist attack killed more than 100 people in Ankara on Oct. 10.