Report: Turkey detains 3 Russians in raid aimed at ISIL

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ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s state-run news agency says police in the Mediterranean city of Antalya have detained three Russian nationals in a raid on suspected Islamic State militants.

The Anadolu Agency said anti-terrorism police conducted the raids on Wednesday, a day after an ISIL suicide bomber detonated a bomb in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, killing 10 foreigners, most of them German tourists.

Russia’s consulate general in Ankara confirmed the detention of the trio. “The reasons for their detention are being clarified,” Consul General Alexander Tolstopyatenko said, according to the Tass news agency.

Anadolu said the suspects were allegedly in contact with ISIS fighters in conflict zones and had provided logistical support to the group.

The Russian Foreign Ministry in November said 2,719 Russians had left for Syria to fight for ISIL. Of these, 160 have been killed, 73 have returned and been tried and 36 have been arrested, according to Oleg Syromolotov, the deputy minister of foreign affairs.

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