IS, police clash leaves 6 dead in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey-Turkish police have detained a few 30 people in predawn raids on suspected Islamic State militants, the state-run news agency said on Tuesday, a day after a similar operation left seven militants and two police officers dead.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters and 12 others detained.

“With yesterday’s operation, we prevented an attack bigger than that in Ankara”.

“They will continue against all terrorist organisations”, he said, adding that Turkey makes no distinction between the PKK, the Islamic State and the DHKP-C, an outlawed Marxist group that has carried out a number of attacks.

Tensions are running full of Turkey only six days ahead of general elections.

Armored police vehicles sealed off a road where police launched the raid, news agency Dogan’s video footage showed. The vote is deemed as a test for President Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for more than a decade, but his Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to win a majority in June elections. Another four officers were injured. “We hit it twice”, Davutoglu said.

Turkish authorities have blamed the Islamic State for a double suicide bombing in Ankara earlier this month.

Authorities had previously said they were killed by a booby-trap when they entered the property in Kayapinar at around 3.20 p.m. (1220GMT) following a tip-off about Daesh cells preparing attacks.

Long criticised by its Western allies for not doing enough to stem the rise of the extremist jihadist group, Turkey launched air strikes against IS targets in Syria after a deadly bombing on a border town in July.

Turkish security forces began a campaign of airstrikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq and Islamic State fighters in Syria recently.