Turkey detains suspected IS members over alleged attack plot

Turkish authorities detained 115 suspected members of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group on Thursday, the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said.

Police said they obtained information that members of the group had planned attacks in the country during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor's office said in a statement posted to X.

Special police units launched simultaneous raids at 124 locations in Istanbul and detained 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said.

Several pistols and ammunition were seized during the raids, it added. The police's counter-terrorism operation is still ongoing.

Extremist groups still active in Syria

Turkey, which shares a 900-plus-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria, has vowed to continue support for Syria's fight against extremist groups, including IS.

Ankara has been a strong backer of the interim government in Damascus since former dictator Bashar Assad was overthrown last year.

Syria's interim leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who once had ties to al-Qaida, has vowed to distance himself from extremist groups in a quest to build unity in the country.

Although IS has lost much of its sway and territory in Syria, the terrorist group continues to remain active as a loosely linked network rather than a self-declared caliphate with control over cities and territories.

This week, Turkey's intelligence agency conducted an operation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and captured a Turkish national. According to the agency, the individual held a senior role in the Islamic State group.