The raids came a day after three police officers and six suspected Islamic State (IS) members were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkey.
Turkish police have detained 357 suspected members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) as part of a widening crackdown against the group, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
The raids — which took place in 21 provinces across Turkey — came a day after a deadly clash in the northwest province of Yalova, where three police officers and six IS militants were killed.
Eight other officers and a security guard were wounded when police stormed a house used as a hideout.
Turkey has launched a series of operations against suspected IS cells in the past week, following reports that operatives were planning attacks targeting Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, according to authorities.
On Tuesday, police carried out simultaneous raids in 21 provinces — including in Istanbul, Ankara and Yalova — Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement posted on X.
He said 357 suspects were detained, but not did not provide any further details.
Some of the suspects were linked to the militants who opened fire against police in Yalova, while others were suspected of planning possible attacks around New Year’s Day, the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office said.
Several of the detainees are suspected of collecting money under the guise of charity and funnelling it to IS-linked networks in Syria, according to prosecutors.
Among those detained were foreign nationals connected to IS fighters in conflict zones, authorities said.
History of attacks in Turkey
IS has previously carried out several deadly attacks across Turkey.
On 10 October 2015, IS suicide bombers targeted a peace rally outside Ankara's main railway station, killing at least 102 people and injuring more than 400 in what remains the deadliest terror attack in Turkish history. Trials related to the attack are still ongoing.
On 1 January 2017, a gunman attacked Reina nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations, killing 39 people.
Between 2015 and 2017, IS was also responsible for attacks at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, as well as in Suruç and Diyarbakır, in which hundreds of civilians were killed.
While IS lost hold of all of the territory it once held in Syria and Iraq years ago, cells of the extremist group have continued to carry out attacks in both countries and abroad.
The United States carried out strikes against IS militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while Australian police said two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to have been inspired by the group.