(AKI) - Turkish police have detained 30 people suspected of belonging to the Al-Qaeda network, the Anatolian Agency reported. In raids conducted on Wednesday, anti-terrorist police detained 15 suspects in Istanbul and 15 more in two other regions of the country, the report said.Police also seized documents and other materials during the operation which is part of an ongoing police investigation.
In August, eleven alleged members of Al-Qaeda were detained in southeastern Turkey, and accused of establishing a group named the Muslim Revenge Brigade in order to carry out attacks. They are due to be tried later this month.
According to the daily, Hurriyet, a Turkish prosecutor charged Wednesday two suspected Al-Qaeda members over an attack on the US Consulate in Istanbul in July. Three attackers and three police officers were killed in the incident.
Al-Qaeda militants were blamed for the deaths of more than 60 people in a series of bombings in Istanbul in 2003.