Turkey detains 54 ISIS suspects in Istanbul crackdown

Suspects were believed to be preparing to travel to war-torn Syria

Turkish police officers prepare to storm a house during an operation to arrest ISIS suspects in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, early on March 7, 2018. Gokhan Keskinci / AP

Fifty-four suspected ISIS members were detained by the Turkish authorities in Istanbul, police said on Tuesday.

All those arrested were foreign nationals and were believed to be preparing to travel to conflict zones in Syria, reported the private Dogan News Agency.

Police raided 19 addresses in over a dozen districts late on Monday. The suspects were transferred to police headquarters for interrogation.

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Turkey detains 13 ISIS suspects in Adana

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ISIS has carried out a number of bombings across Turkey in recent years, including an attack on a nightclub in the capital in which 39 people were killed and a bombing in the city's historic heart that killed 12.

Turkish operations against the extremist group intensified at the end of last year on the anniversary of the nightclub shooting.

In April, police detained four key ISIS members including a so-called emir in charge of Syria's Deir Ezzor province.