ISTANBUL – Turkish police forces have detained 11 suspects belonging to the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) in a new security operation in the city of Istanbul, local media reported on Thursday.“The 11 suspects, including seven foreign nationals, were arrested Thursday during simultaneous operations on some 20 locations in the city,” the Anadolu Agency reported.
The suspects have entered the Turkish territory to join the ISIS extremist group, according to the source. Over the past few weeks, Turkish authorities have detained dozens of ISIS suspects, including some 20 suspects in the city of Antalya.
Also on Thursday, a French ISIS suspect was arrested after having a hair transplant, local media reported. He is believed to have been planning a terror attack on the Turkish soil.
The suspect, who was identified as Mehdibend Saeed, was arrested in the Aegean coast town of Izmir after intelligence agents followed him to a clinic from where he had the hair transplant, security sources told local media.
Saeed, who has been under surveillance since entering Turkey from Syria, admitted to investigators that he was craved to have more cosmetic surgery to make him “look better”.
Currently, Turkish clinics flourished for trade in hair transplants, especially for people of Gulf states.
The Turkish authorities have recently intensified security measures and arrested dozens of ISIS suspects, specifically after suicide bombings hit the southern city of Suruc and the capital Ankara, killing dozens of peaceful activists and civilians.
Before the Turkish elections on November 1, two police officers and seven ISIS members have been killed in a security raid on suspect houses in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.