Turkey: 20 people detained over suspected IS links

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s state-run news agency says police have detained 20 foreign nationals suspected of links to the Islamic State group.

Anadolu Agency said Monday the suspects were detained in the capital Ankara by anti-terrorism police. There was no immediate information on their nationalities.

The sweep came a day after the United States announced that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid in Syria.

Turkey was also hit by a wave of attacks in 2015 and 2016 blamed on the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants that killed around 300 people.

In the last major attack, 39 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations in the early hours of 2017. The attack was claimed by IS.