Ankara has stepped up its operations against armed groups since the beginning of October.

Turkey has arrested hundreds of people suspected of having links to ISIL.

The raid was carried out during operations in 32 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday. Ankara has stepped up operations against the armed group and Kurdish groups during the Gaza war and after a bomb exploded near government buildings in early October.

The majority of the suspects were arrested in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, the country’s three largest cities, Yerlikaya said on the social messaging platform X. The nationality of those arrested was not disclosed.

The operation was carried out simultaneously across the country, the minister said, sharing footage showing police entering homes and buildings and dragging suspects into vehicles.

3⃣0⃣4⃣ people were captured in the “HEROES-34” operations, which were carried out simultaneously against the terrorist organization DAESH in 32 provinces❗

For the peace, unity and solidarity of our beloved nation, we will not tolerate terrorists. Our fight with the superior efforts of our security forces… pic.twitter.com/WKlpZVGMeN

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 22, 2023

ISIL emerged after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. That was it forged from an alliance between an al-Qaeda affiliate and elements of the defeated Baath Party in Iraq.

At its peak in 2014, its fighters controlled a third of Iraq and Syria.

But the group lost control of the territory after campaigns by U.S.-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syrian forces backed by Iran, Russia and various paramilitaries.

Although repulsed, some ISIL fighters remain hidden, mostly in remote areas of Syria and Iraq, from where they continue to carry out attacks.

Turkey continues to be targeted and has been hit by a series of deadly bombings since 2015. An attack in Istanbul on January 1, 2017 killed 39 people in a nightclub.

Since then, Ankara has stepped up its crackdown on people in the country with possible ties to IS. The latest arrests are believed to have been made in anticipation of the upcoming New Year celebrations.

In May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the country’s intelligence services had killed the suspected leader of ISIS, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi.

“This person was neutralized as part of a Turkish intelligence operation in Syria,” Erdogan said. “We will continue our fight against terrorist organizations without any discrimination.”

In recent weeks, Turkish authorities have also carried out operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. The Kurdish fighters took responsibility because of the explosion of a bomb near Turkish government buildings in Ankara on October 1st.

“For the peace and unity of our people, we will not allow terrorists to open their eyes,” Yerlikaya said on Friday. “We will continue our fight with the intensive efforts of our security forces.”