27 ISIS Suspects Held in Turkey as Attacks Planned

Haydarpasa port and southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait are pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
Haydarpasa port and southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait are pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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27 ISIS Suspects Held in Turkey as Attacks Planned

Haydarpasa port and southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait are pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
Haydarpasa port and southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait are pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

Turkish police have detained 27 people in Istanbul over suspected links to the ISIS group Sunday, state-run media said Sunday.

The Anadolu news agency reported that the suspects were held in simultaneous early morning raids by anti-terrorist police in 15 districts across Istanbul as they allegedly prepared to carry out attacks.

The agency said the alleged attacks were in response to recent social media posts that insulted the Prophet Muhammad and that a "large number" of documents and digital material was recovered during the searches.

Turkey has suffered a number of attacks by Islamic State militants over the last five years, including the bombing of a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October 2015 that killed 102 people.



Russia, Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
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Russia, Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) react following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, 10 June 2025. (EPA)

Russia and Ukraine said Tuesday they had exchanged captured soldiers, the second stage of an agreement struck at peace talks last week for each side to free more than 1,000 prisoners.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday's exchange saw "the return of our injured and severely wounded warriors from Russian captivity."

Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed in the swap -- the second in as many days following another exchange on Monday.

The two sides had agreed in Istanbul last week to release all wounded soldiers and all under the age of 25.

Russia's defense ministry said: "In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul, the second group of Russian servicemen was returned."

Zelensky said further exchanges would follow.

"The exchanges are to continue. We are doing everything we can to find and return every single person who is in captivity."

The agreement had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, with both sides trading accusations of attempting to thwart the exchange.

Russia says Ukraine has still not agreed to collect the bodies of killed soldiers, after Moscow said more than 1,200 corpses were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border.

Russia said it had agreed to hand over the remains of 6,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers, while Kyiv said it would be an "exchange".

Moscow and Kyiv have carried out dozens of prisoner exchanges since Russia invaded in 2022, triggering Europe's largest conflict since World War II.