UPDATE: Turkey arrests 14 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF ARRESTS, ADDS DETAILS

By Ibrahim Halil Akturk

ISTANBUL (AA) – Security forces in Istanbul have arrested 14 people with suspected links to the terror group Daesh/ISIS, the Turkish police said Thursday.

The suspects were arrested at 20 different venues in the early morning in simultaneous anti-terror operations by police and intelligence teams.

Among the suspects are 13 foreign nationals -- some of whom are suspected of being active in Syria -- and their deportation procedures have started, the Istanbul Police Department said in a statement.

A number of documents and digital materials were also seized in the operations, it added.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist group.

The country has since been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists multiple times, with at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks that killed 315 people and injured hundreds more.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk, Gözde Bayar