Turkey arrests seven suspected ISIS members "planning attacks"

Turkish authorities on Tuesday (October 27th) arrested seven suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group who were planning attacks, the Ankara public prosecutor and local media said.

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Arrested in Ankara, the suspects were preparing attacks for October 29, Turkey's national holiday, and November 10, the date of commemoration of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, the NTV news channel said.

Two of those arrested took part in armed clashes in Syria and one of them is said to be one of

"

", according to NTV.

Turkey long accused of "

let it go, let it go

"

The Ankara prosecutor's office reported the arrest of seven individuals suspected of being ISIS in two separate investigations in the Turkish capital, without providing details.

The nationality of those arrested has not been communicated.

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In the years following the start of the conflict in Syria, in 2011, border Turkey was one of the main transit points for jihadists seeking to reach this warring country.

Since the fall of

self-proclaimed

“

” in March 2019, many have gone the other way and joined Turkey.

Long accused of "

", Ankara now regularly announces the arrest of suspected ISIS members who are in its territory.

Turkey was hit in 2015 and 2016 by numerous deadly attacks attributed or claimed by the Islamic State group, the most recent of which left 39 dead, mostly foreigners, in an upscale nightclub in Istanbul on New Year's Eve 2017 .