World Bulletin / News Desk

Anti-extremism police in the capital Ankara have detained 60 ISIL-linked suspects early Sunday morning, security sources said.

The suspects, most of them foreign nationals, have been charged with being members of an armed extremist organization, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Police also carried out separate operations in Istanbul, northwestern Kocaeli and western Izmir provinces in early hours of Sunday, police sources said.

In Istanbul and Kocaeli, a total of 18 people -- 14 of whom are foreigners including 10 children -- were arrested for having alleged links to the ISIL extremist group.

The operations were conducted in 20 different addresses in Beyoglu, Esenler, Sisli, Bagcilar, Maltepe and Sultanbeyli districts of Istanbul and one address in Kocaeli.

Security forces also held at least eight ISIL suspects in Izmir in preparation for a extremist attack.

During the operation, officers seized some organizational documents, a hunting rifle, an unauthorized gun and a number of books written by the leader of Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO).

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen have been blamed for July 15 coup attempt, which martyred at least 248 people and wounded around 2,200 others.

Turkey has taken steps to crack down on ISIL since 2014 when the extrem group launched a series of suicide bombings in Turkey.

Separately, Turkey has also been conducting Operation Euphrates Shield, which began late August 2016 to improve security and eliminate the extrem threat from ISIL as well as other extremist groups along Turkey’s southern border with Syria.