ANKARA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish intelligence on Thursday detained five members of the Islamic State (IS) group in an operation conducted in northern Syria, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.
The operation was carried out in Türkiye's 2019 Operation Peace Spring zone in cooperation with the local forces of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, according to Anadolu.
In a separate operation on Thursday, the logistics officer of the IS in Iraq was caught by Turkish security forces in Türkiye's northwestern province of Bolu.
Turkish police also detained 13 other IS suspects in Istanbul Province.
The Turkish government designated the IS a terrorist organization in 2013, blaming it for a spate of deadly attacks in the country since 2015.
Türkiye's southern border with Syria has been a major crossing point for Syrians and foreign fighters since a civil war broke out in Syria in 2011.
In 2016, Türkiye launched its first cross-border operation in northern Syria, dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, to eliminate the IS militants around the Jarablus and Azaz region. ■
