Turkish police arrest 13 during anti-terrorist raids

Turkish police have carried out raids against suspected Daesh cells in Istanbul and detained 13 people, including three foreigners, a Turkish official says.

According to the reports, police on Thursday carried out simultaneous raids at 16 different addresses in Istanbul following the triple bombings at Istanbul's international airport that left 42 people dead.

Counter-terrorism police teams, led by special forces officers, carried out raids in working-class neighborhoods of Istanbul in Pendik, Basaksehir and Sultanbeyli.

Nine suspected militants, thought to have been in contact with Daesh in Syria, were meanwhile detained in raids in three districts in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Those arrested are suspected of financing, recruiting and providing logistical support to the Daesh Takfiri group, which is currently wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq.

The raids come two days after a triple bombing and gun attacks killed 42 people and injured 239 others at the Istanbul airport.

Three terrorists blew themselves up late on Tuesday night as security forces were trying to block their progress into the airport.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said early signs suggested that the Daesh terrorist group was behind the bombings.

SS