Turkey Detains Nearly 300 Alleged IS, PKK Members in Police Raids

World » SOUTHEAST EUROPE | July 24, 2015, Friday // 14:14
Bulgaria: Turkey Detains Nearly 300 Alleged IS, PKK Members in Police Raids (150723) -- DIYARBAKIR, July 23, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police guard the attack area in the city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, on July 23, 2015. Two Turkish police officers were wounded in an armed attack by gunmen in southeastern Turkey Thursday, local NTV ne

Turkish authorities detained nearly 300 people as police launched large-scale raids to arrest suspected members of Islamic State (IS), the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other militant groups on Friday.

The raids became necessary after a wave of deadly violence has recently gripped the country, claiming the lives of several security officers.

The police, which was backed by helicopters, raided addresses in sixteen of the country's provinces, Daily Hurriyet informs.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that 297 people were detained in the raids, while a member of the banned Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) was killed.

The DHKP-C member was killed in a clash with police forces while attempting to resist an arrest by the authorities in the Bagcilar district of Istanbul.

Istanbul witnessed the detention of at least 90 people, including 37 foreigners, as 5000 police officers raided 140 addresses in the city.

A total of sixteen suspected PKK militants were arrested in the western provinces of Izmir and Bursa.

At least two people, including one teenager, were detained in the southern province of Antalya on suspicions of being PKK members.

The Office of the Turkish Prime Minister announced in a statement its determination to fight IS and other militant groups “without distinction”.

The wave of violence was unleashed after the deadly suicide attack in the southeastern town of Suruc on Monday, which claimed the lives of at least 32 people and left hundreds injured.

Two police officers were killed in southeast Turkey close to the border with Syria on Wednesday, while another one was murdered in the province of Diyarbakir on Thursday.

Parallel to the police raids, Turkish fighter jets carried out airstrikes on three IS targets in Syria on Friday.

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Tags: turkey, IS, PKK, raid, airstrikes, Syria, DHKP-C, Ahmet Davutoglu, Suruc, attack

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