UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF ARRESTS ON SATURDAY
By Fahrettin Gok and Ugur Ulu
ERZURUM, Turkey (AA) – Turkish police arrested at least 61 Daesh-linked terror suspects in eastern Erzurum and northwestern Bursa provinces on Sunday, security officials said.
In Erzurum, 22 suspects, including senior members of Daesh were arrested as part of the investigation against the terrorist group carried out by Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, told Anadolu Agency.
Teams from the police’s counter-terrorism branch carried out operations against the people reportedly linked to Daesh in the central, Yakutiye, Palandoken and Aziziye districts, the official said.
Additionally, the police seized several weapons including two unlicensed guns, two unlicensed hunting rifles, digital data and organizational documents, the official added.
According to another security official, 39 suspects were arrested during operations carried out by the police’s counter-terrorism branch in Osmangazi, Yildirim, Nilufer, Gemlik, Inegol, Orhangazi and Gursu districts of Bursa.
The official said that the suspects included two Azerbaijani and 28 Syrians, while eight of them are under age.
On Saturday, the police arrested 82 Daesh-linked suspects in total during operations in six provinces across Turkey.
The police arrested 49 of the 55 suspects linked to the terrorist group during operation in Ankara. The suspects are believed to be planning an attack on the country’s Republic Day celebration.
In another operation, the police arrested four terror suspects, two of them were women. A bomb squad later carried out two controlled explosions of devices found from the suspects' car.
Authorities began following the suspects after learning they were using a white car and apprehended them from a mall's car park. As part of the operation, the Istanbul police also destroyed a hideout of the organization.
In addition, 15 Daesh-linked suspects, including two women and six Syrian nationals, were arrested in the western Izmir province, while five more were arrested in southeastern Sanliurfa province.
Another four terror suspects of Iraqi origin were arrested in Central Cankiri province and five others were arrested in northwestern Eskisehir province on Sunday.
