Turkish police have arrested 110 people over suspected links to ISIS, state news agency Anadolu reported on Tuesday.
The suspects are accused of illegally organising classes that were also aimed at children, spreading “radical rhetoric” declaring all non-ISIS members to be “infidels”, and fund-raising and recruitment activities, according to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office
During the police searches and raids, four rifles and 90 bullets were found. "The suspects were taken to the police station for questioning," Anadolu reported
The chief prosecutor's office named Ishak Baysal and Tekin Irec as the leaders, organising lessons and congregating illegally in mosques across Istanbul's Sultanbeyli, Kartal and Sancaktepe districts.
In a statement, it accused the suspects of claiming that the state was “not governed according to Islamic principles”, that “God's laws were not being implemented” and that the rulers were involved in polytheism.
They also allegedly collected money in the form of alms or by selling books to cover their expenses, it added.
Last week, Turkey's Interior Ministry said it arrested 324 people with suspected links to ISIS during raids across 47 provinces. The suspects had outstanding arrest warrants or “provided financial support” to the group, the ministry said.
Turkish authorities have been carrying out similar arrests throughout the year – including in April, two weeks after a deadly shooting near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. The Interior Minister insinuated that the gunman was an ISIS member, although the group did not claim responsibility for the attack.
Turkey shares a 900km border with Syria which has been a hotspot for ISIS activity for years. Although largely defeated, the group is believed to be behind some attacks, such as one in December on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra that killed two American soldiers and an interpreter. The US in February responded by carrying out five strikes against the terror group.
