Largest Anti-Terror Operation: Turkish Police Arrest 400 ISIL Members

Turkish police detained around 400 people suspected of being members of the Islamic State on Sunday after anti-terror raids in six provinces, state media reported on what is the largest such operation against Islamist militants to date, Patria reports.  

Those arrested are mostly foreign nationals, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu. About 60 suspects were detained in Ankara, 18 in Istanbul and Kocaeli, 47 in Gaziantep, 46 in Bursa province, while the largest number, 150, were arrested in Sanliurfa province, which is located near the Syrian border.

Turkey has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks in recent times, the most recent of which occurred on New Year's Eve when a member of the Islamic State from Kyrgyzstan killed 39 people at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. 

Along with the announcement of today's arrests, Turkey stated that 780 suspects remain in custody, 350 of whom are foreigners, on suspicion of links to jihadists. Some of them have already been convicted.