Turkish police detained around 30 Daesh suspects in a dawn raid on Tuesday, a day after a deadly shootout with a group of the jihadists, local media reported.

Police launched simultaneous operations against Daesh cell houses in the conservative central Anatolian city of Konya, the Dogan news agency reported, adding that the operation was ongoing.

On Monday, two policemen and seven Daesh suspects were killed in a gun battle in the Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir in the southeast of the country.

Turkey, gearing up for elections on Sunday, has launched a hunt for Daesh extremists after blaming the group for a massive twin bomb attack in the capital Ankara this month that killed 102 people.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday vowed to press ahead with operations against all "militants" including Daesh and members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Long criticised by its Western allies for not doing enough to stem the rise of the extremist jihadist group, Turkey launched air strikes against IS targets in Syria after a deadly bombing on a border town in July.

But most of the firepower was concentrated on PKK fighters based in northern Iraq, rupturing a 2013 truce between Ankara and the rebels.
Source: AFP