INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Turkish police have detained at least 124 people suspected of links with Islamic State in an apparent attempt to prevent potential New
Year's Eve attacks.Anti-terror officers and the national intelligence agency rounded up at least 33 foreign nationals in the capital Ankara,
said state news agency Anadolu.Thirty of them were Iraqis.Another 24 suspects, including four foreigners, were detained in the country's
biggest city of Istanbul.Dawn raids in Batman in southeastern Turkey led to seizures of weapons and ammunition, and 22 people were taken
into custody, reported Anadolu.Other raids took place in the cities of Adana, Kayseri, Samsun and Bursa.Police have arrested suspected
terrorists in late December during the past few years since 39 people were shot dead at Istanbul's upmarket Reina nightclub in the early
hours of 1 January 2017.Dozens were also injured in the attack, carried out by an Uzbekistan-born gunman and claimed by IS.Turkey deported
778 IS fighters and other jihadists back to their home countries in 2019, interior minister Suleyman Soylu said on Sunday.The country has in
recent months increased efforts to expel people accused of terrorism - many of whom entered the country from Syria, saying Turkey is "not a
hotel" for foreign fighters.
