PHOTO: AFP
ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities have arrested three suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Istanbul, including two Pakistanis and a Briton, state media said Tuesday.
The state-run Anatolia news agency said the Pakistani suspects had been detained last week in a raid on their homes in Istanbul's central Mecidiyekoy district.
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Police then expanded the operation based on intelligence the suspects provided and detained the British suspect, identified as Hasan H., at a bus stop in the conservative Fatih district, it added.
All have now been remanded in custody by a court.
Anatolia said that Hasan H was believed to be linked to Aine Lesley Davis, a close associate of the notorious British Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John" who Washington believes was likely killed in a recent drone strike in Syria.
Davis, a London-born British Muslim who turned to extremist militancy, was among Islamic State suspects detained in November in Istanbul the same day as the Paris attacks, for allegedly planning to stage a parallel attack in Turkey's largest city.
There has been no further information on Davis' case since his detention.
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Long criticised for not doing enough to stem the flow of militant fighters across its volatile border with Syria, Turkey has stepped up fight after a number of deadly attacks on Turkish soil blamed on Islamic State, making almost daily arrests of would-be militants.
Earlier December the government said that over 2,700 militant suspects from 89 countries had been detained in Turkey and deported.
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