Three Turkish police, six IS militants killed in northwest Turkey raid

Three Turkish police officers were killed and nine others wounded during an operation against the Islamic State group in northwest Turkey on Monday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

The clash occurred in Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara, during one of a series of raids targeting IS operatives. Yerlikaya said six Islamic State militants were also killed in the operation.

“Three of our courageous police unfortunately lost their lives. Eight police officers and one security agent were also wounded,” the minister said.

Yerlikaya said the violence broke out when IS militants opened fire on police during pre-dawn raids conducted at 108 locations across 15 provinces, including Yalova, beginning at 2 a.m. local time.

According to the minister, all six IS operatives killed were Turkish nationals. Five women and six children who were present at the scene were evacuated safely, he added.

The operation follows an order last week by an Istanbul prosecutor to detain 137 suspected IS members after intelligence suggested the group was planning attacks during the year-end holiday period.

Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometre border with Syria, has long expressed concern over militant infiltration across its frontier.

The Islamic State group was recently accused of carrying out an attack in Palmyra that killed two American soldiers and an interpreter. Separately, Turkish intelligence last week announced the arrest of a suspected IS leader between Afghanistan and Pakistan, who was allegedly planning suicide attacks in the region and in Europe.