ANKARA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Police detained nine Islamic State (IS) suspects of foreign nationalities in the Turkish capital of Ankara, state-run TRT broadcaster reported Wednesday.
They were among 10 foreigner criminal suspects detained during an operation launched by the Turkish police's anti-terror and intelligence teams, the TRT quoted anonymous security officials as saying.
The suspects will be handed over to the Turkish directorate of migration for deportation after giving their testimonies, according to the report.
The TRT reported that some of the suspects had stayed in the "conflict zones" and were active at the ranks of the group in the past years.
The IS group remains active within the Syrian territory. Türkiye's southern border with Syria has been a major crossing point for Syrians and foreign fighters since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011.
The Turkish government designated the IS a terrorist organization in 2013, blaming it for a spate of deadly attacks in the country since 2015.
In 2016, Türkiye launched its first cross-border operation in northern Syria, dubbed operation Euphrates Shield, to eliminate the IS militants around Syria's Jarablus and Azaz region. ■
