ISTANBUL– Turkish authorities on Monday detained 20 foreign nationals with suspected links to Islamic State, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported.
The detentions come a day after President Donald Trump announced that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria, near the Turkish border.
Domestic operations against people with suspected links to Islamic State are common in Turkey and it was not immediately clear whether Monday’s detentions were related to Baghdadi’s death.
Anadolu said authorities had identified 20 foreign nationals with links to Islamic State, who had entered Turkey illegally.
It said the suspects had been detained in dawn raids in the capital Ankara and that they would be handed to immigration authorities for deportation after processing by security officials.
Islamic State has carried out atrocities against religious minorities and attacks on five continents in the name of an ultra-fanatic version of Islam that horrified mainstream Muslims.
The death of Baghdadi is a severe blow to the group, which has been in disarray and has no declared successor as leader yet. But it has in the past proved resilient, continuing to mount or inspire attacks in the region and beyond despite losing most of its territory in recent years.
