The arrests were made mainly in Ankara and in Izmir in the west, as well as in the centre, east and south, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on X.

“99 suspects have been arrested in the GURZ-4 operations over the past three days,” Yerlikaya said.

“We will not tolerate any terrorist,” he added.

Turkish authorities have made several mass arrests of alleged IS members in recent years, most recently a roundup of 147 people announced in March.

Following the arrests, Yerlikaya stated that police had apprehended a total of 2,919 people suspected of belonging to the terrorist group.

According to local officials, two of the attackers who slaughtered 145 people at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall last March, for which IS claimed responsibility, spent several weeks in Turkey before traveling to Russia.

AFP