Turkey arrests 13 suspected IS members, thwarts attacks

Police in the southern Turkish city of Adana have detained 13 Islamic State suspects who were allegedly plotting attacks on the US consulate and other buildings around the city, AP reported.

The suspects were arrested on Wednesday at dawn during a number of simultaneous raids. Battering rams were used at some locations to break down doors.

Twelve of the 13 suspects are Syrian nationals, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

On Tuesday, police arrested four Iraqi Islamic State suspects in the Black Sea coastal city of Samsun. Authorities had been investigating a possible plot against the US embassy in Ankara, forcing it to close.

A series of deadly terror attacks have struck Turkey since 2015 and 2016, with most carried out by the Islamic State fighters or Kurdish rebels.

In February, Ankara launched Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in Syria’s Afrin region.

Turkish authorities have arrested hundreds since the military campaign began in the northern Syrian region – most of those jailed had expressed criticism of the offensive.  

Turkey has recently urged the United States to block the redeployment of 1700 Kurdish fighters from the frontlines against IS to Afrin.

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