ANKARA: Not less than 34 overseas nationals have been arrested over their suspected hyperlinks to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in an operation throughout seven provinces in Turkey, official sources stated.

Taking to X, Inside Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that the suspects, together with some needed with an Interpol crimson discover, had been arrested in “Cage-35” anti-terror operations carried out concurrently within the provinces of Istanbul, Kocaeli, Yalova, Kayseri, Bursa, Duzce, and Yozgat,

Throughout operations, unauthorised firearms, a big quantity of overseas forex, and digital supplies had been additionally seized, Yerlikaya was quoted as saying by Xinhua information company.

The operations got here after two masked gunmen, one from Tajikistan and the opposite from Russia, opened hearth final Sunday on worshippers on the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul’s Sariyer district, killing one individual.

The 2 overseas nationals arrested had been believed to be IS members, Yerlikaya stated a day later.

Turkey listed IS as a terrorist group in 2013.