Police in Turkey have arrested 12 people suspected of links to Islamist militant network al-Qaeda in Istanbul and Van province, local media report, quoted by BBC. They picked up the suspects in two simultaneous operations and are holding them on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks, officials said. Weapons, bomb-making items, explosives and digital devices were found. While Turkey has a history of terrorist attacks, al-Qaeda is not thought to have a strong presence there. However, in January police arrested more than 150 people suspected of al-Qaeda links in cities including Ankara and Istanbul.
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