Turkey's state-run news agency said Thursday police carried out raids against suspected Islamic State militants in Istanbul and the western coastal city of Izmir.
The Anadolu Agency said authorities arrested nine people in Izmir accused of having links to Islamic State fighters in Syria that included support for the group's finances, recruiting and logistics.
The raids in Istanbul targeted several neighborhoods, but it was not clear if any arrests were made or if the operations were related to Tuesday's triple suicide bombing at an Istanbul airport that killed 42 people and wounded 239 others. Turkish officials have blamed Islamic State for the attack, though the militants have not made any claim of responsibility.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday the investigation is ongoing, but that evidence points to Islamic State. He suggested the attack could have been a response to Turkish efforts to improving relations with Russia and Israel.
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief John Brennan said the bombings had all the typical signs of Islamic State "depravity" and warned of the challenges of stopping that type of attack.
"You look at what happened in the Turkish airport, these were suicide vests. It's not that difficult to actually construct and fabricate a suicide vest," he told Yahoo News.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday at a summit of North American leaders in Canada that his government "will not rest until we have dismantled these networks of hate that have had an impact on the entire civilized world."
His comments came after he spoke by telephone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan said the attack "shows that terrorism strikes with no regard to faith and values." But he said Turkey "has the power, determination and capacity to continue the fight against terrorism until the end."
The attack on the airport, Europe's third busiest, is the latest in a wave of bombings in Turkey over the past year that has killed more than 260 people. The terrorism has decimated Turkey's tourist industry on which the country's economy heavily relies.
Islamic State has been blamed for two suicide bombings earlier this year in Istanbul that targeted foreign tourists.
The rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has also carried out suicide bombings, but usually targets security forces. A PKK attack on a police bus earlier this month killed 11 people.
(VOA)
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