05 March 2018•Update: 06 March 2018
By Sertac Bulur, Baris Kilic and Ozkan Beyer
ANKARA
Prosecutors in Turkey’s capital Ankara issued arrest warrants on Monday for 20 people as part of a probe into the terrorist group Daesh, according to a security source.
In raids across the city, counterterrorist units apprehended at least 12 of the wanted suspects, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The source said the arrested suspects, who are foreigners, were allegedly recruiting members for the terror group and were in contact with conflict zones.
Police are seeking the remaining suspects, the source added.
In a separate operation in the Black Sea province of Samsun, four Iraqi nationals were arrested for their suspected links to the Daesh group, another security source said.
Police conducted the operation as part of an investigation into an alleged terror attack plot on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, the source added.
Another anti-Daesh operation in the southern Gaziantep province saw one person arrested.
The suspect was brought to a court and remanded in custody on the charge of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization", according to written statement from the Gaziantep chief public prosecutor's office.
More than 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the terror group has targeted civilians in suicide bomb, rocket, and gun attacks.
Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh attacks.
