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Turkey detained nine members with the Islamic State (IS) militant group, including three Russians, a day following a bomb attack in Istanbul killed 10 people and injured 15 others.
Turkish Police forces launched an operation in the southern province of Antalya, where it seized copious amounts of documents attributed to IS, and detained 3 Russians suspected of IS membership.
Meanwhile, police forces synchronized operations against six locations in the Aegean province of Izmir on Jan. 13.
Six suspects believed to be militant recruiters for IS were detained during the operations.
Detentions were made the day after an IS suicide bomber blew himself up in a touristic hub in Istanbul's old quarter, killing 10 foreigners, mostly German tourists, and wounding 15 others.
Turkey's Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Tuesday that the suspected suicide bomber involved in Tuesday's blast is an IS member.
Turkey has stepped up the fight against terrorist militants, following repeated criticism of its shortcomings in controlling the flow of jihadist fighters from crossing its volatile border with Syria, and after a number of deadly attacks against the country were attributed to IS militants last year in Sanliurfa, Ankara and in Istanbul Tuesday.
The Interior Minister, Efkan Ala, informed local media on Jan. 11 that Turkey has banned the entry of over 35,000 people from around 120 countries over suspected ties to IS.
"We banned the entry of 35,690 people from 124 countries," said Ala Monday, also referring to intelligence sharing with other countries in the fight against IS. "We have also captured and deported 2,896 people from 92 countries," he added.
In December 2015, the government said over 2,700 jihadist suspects from 89 countries were detained and deported from Turkey.
Turkey's police forces have detained an additional 33 suspects in Istanbul and the southern province of Adana on Jan. 10, also believed to be affiliated with IS.
