Turkish authorities say they have disrupted planned attacks on Christmas and New Year's events after detaining more than 100 suspected members of the so-called Islamic State group.
Mass raids were carried out at 124 addresses across Istanbul, the city's chief prosecutor said, with firearms, ammunition and organisational documents seized.
Officials reported that IS supporters had been actively planning attacks across Turkey, particularly targeting non-Muslims. Police detained 115 suspects but efforts are ongoing to trace a further 22, according to an official statement.
The prosecutor's office indicated that the suspects were in contact with IS operatives outside Turkey. This announcement follows a raid conducted by Turkish intelligence agents against the group on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where a Turkish national believed to be a senior operative was arrested for allegedly plotting attacks against civilians.
Turkey's security services routinely focus on individuals suspected of having connections to IS, particularly due to the country's extensive 900km (560 mile) border with Syria, where the group maintains operational influence.
In a related context, Syria's president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has expressed a commitment to collaborate with the US and Europe in dismantling the remnants of IS. In a significant escalation, the US recently executed airstrikes against IS positions in Syria in response to the killing of three Americans by IS gunmen during a recent ambush.
Two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in the attack earlier this month.
