Türkiye detains 357 IS suspects after deadly clash has detained 357 suspected Islamic State (IS) members in a sweeping nationwide operation, a day after a deadly gunfight with militants near Istanbul underscored renewed security concerns.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Turkish police carried out coordinated raids across 21 provinces, detaining 357 suspects linked to Islamic State.
In a statement posted on X, Yerlikaya said authorities would not allow terrorism to destabilise the country, vowing continued pressure on militant networks.
Earlier, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said police raided 114 addresses in Istanbul, along with locations in two other provinces.
During the raids, authorities seized digital materials and documents, which investigators say may help identify broader IS-linked networks operating in Turkey.
Deadly clash in Yalova
The operation followed an eight-hour siege on Monday at a house in Yalova, a town on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul.
During the gunfight, three police officers and six militants were killed, while eight police officers and another security force member were wounded, officials said.
The Yalova raid was part of a broader security sweep that began last week, when more than 100 suspected IS members were detained over alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks.
Authorities said the house targeted in Yalova was one of more than 100 locations searched during operations on Monday.
Turkey has intensified operations against Islamic State this year, citing the group’s resurgence globally.
Recent international incidents have heightened concerns, including US strikes on IS targets in Nigeria and Syria, and attacks abroad that officials say were inspired by the militant group.
Nearly a decade ago, Islamic State was blamed for a string of high-profile attacks in Turkey, including assaults on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, which killed dozens.
At the time, Turkey served as a key transit route for foreign fighters travelling to and from Syria during the war.
Since the surge of violence between 2015 and 2017, regular police operations have sharply reduced attacks inside the country.
