Turkish police detain over 420 people in anti-IS operation

Turkish anti-terrorism police break a door during an operation to arrest people over alleged links to the Islamic State group, in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey, early Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. Turkey's state-run agency says anti-terrorism police have detained more than 400 people in simultaneous police operations that spanned several cities, including Istanbul and Gaziantep near the border with Syria, according to the report. (Mahir Alan/Dha-Depo Photos via AP) (The Associated Press)

Turkish anti-terrorism police stand by their armoured vehicle during an operation to arrest people over alleged links to the Islamic State group, in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey, early Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. Turkey's state-run agency says anti-terrorism police has detained more than 400 people in simultaneous police operations that spanned several cities, including Istanbul and Gaziantep near the border with Syria, according to the report. (Mahir Alan/Dha-Depo Photos via AP) (The Associated Press)

ISTANBUL – Turkey's state-run agency says anti-terrorism police have detained over 420 people over alleged links to the Islamic State group.

The Anadolu Agency says Sunday that 60 IS suspects, the vast majority of them foreigners, were taken into custody in the capital, Ankara. It says a total of 423 people were detained in simultaneous police operations that spanned several cities, including Istanbul and Gaziantep, near the border with Syria.

The largest operation was in the southeast province of Sanliurfa, where police took into custody more than 100 suspects from multiple addresses and found materials relating to Islamic State militants.

Turkey, which endured a failed coup attempt and dozens of bloody attacks linked to IS or Kurdish militants in 2016, has been stepping up its anti-terrorism efforts.