Security forces in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, launched sweeping raids Tuesday, taking more than 200 people into custody who are suspected of ties to extremist organizations, including the Islamic State group — all in preparation for next month’s high-profile NATO summit.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Ankara for the July 7-8 summit, joining fellow leaders from the 32-nation military alliance.
Turkish authorities are putting extensive security measures in place for the event. Plans include prohibiting public demonstrations, limiting access to roads near airports, and creating secure perimeters around the summit venue and hotels where visiting delegations will be staying.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made security a top priority, with law enforcement conducting raids on a regular basis. Just last month, a nationwide operation resulted in 324 arrests of individuals suspected of connections to the Islamic State group.
Turkish prosecutors issued detention orders for 241 suspects early Tuesday. By later in the day, police and gendarmerie units had taken 209 of those individuals into custody across the Ankara area, according to a statement from the chief prosecutor’s office. Efforts to detain the remaining suspects were still ongoing.
Of those arrested, 56 were identified as alleged Islamic State militants, while 35 were said to be members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front — a far-left organization with a history of armed attacks and assassinations inside Turkey.
The Islamic State group has been responsible for a number of deadly attacks on Turkish soil, including a 2017 New Year’s Eve shooting at a nightclub in Istanbul that left 39 people dead.
