Turkey detains more than 1,000 including 50-60 foreigners

[Anthea]

BBC News

Turkey bombs Islamic State targets in Syria

Turkey's government says it has bombed Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria.

A day earlier the two sides exchanged fire near the border, with one soldier killed and two more injured.

Turkey is to let the US carry out air strikes against the Islamic State group from a key military base near the Syrian border, US officials have said.

Turkish police also launched raids to arrest suspect IS militants on Friday morning in more than 100 locations in Istanbul.

The raids were carried out in 26 districts of the city and involved 5,000 officers. Members of the the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were also arrested.

A statement released by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's office said that F-16 jets had hit three IS targets in Syria.

The decision to carry out the attacks was taken at a security meeting called after Thursday's border clashes.

Turkish state TV said that the jets had not violated Syrian air space as they attacked the border town of Havar.
'A game changer'

The US is expected to step up bombing raids against IS after reaching an agreement with Turkey to use the Incirlik airbase.

The agreement was finalised in a phone call between President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday. It was confirmed by US officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

The use of the Incirlik airbase broadens the US military's ability to strike IS targets - one US official told the New York Times it was a "game changer".

Once used in raids against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the base is near to Turkey's long border with Syria, and significantly narrows the distance to the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

Link to Full Article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33646314

[Anthea]

July 25 Turkey launched new dawn raids

Turkish security forces on July 25 launched new dawn raids in 14 provinces to arrest suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Police had on July 24 launched major raids in 22 provinces against suspected ISIL and PKK members after a wave of deadly violence in the country, detaining more than 290 people.

The raids on July 25 took place in 14 provinces including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir, as well as Konya in central Turkey, Manisa in the west, Adana in the south, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa and Tunceli in the southeast and Erzincan in the east.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told journalists that 590 people were detained as of July 25.

[Anthea]

Turkey detains over 1,000 in militant crackdown, including 50-60 foreigners

ISTANBUL: Turkey has detained 1,050 people in a crackdown on militant groups including ISIS, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and ultra-leftist DHKP-C in recent days, 50-60 of them foreigners, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday.

Davutoglu made the comments in an interview broadcast live on Turkey's ATV television.

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