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Turkey detains 324 suspected of Islamic State group links

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities have detained 324 people suspected of links to the Islamic State group in a nationwide sweep, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

A statement said the suspects were detained across 47 provinces and included people suspected of financing IS and people previously known to be active in the group.

“For the peace, unity and solidarity of our nation, we continue our operations tirelessly, day and night, 365 days a year,” the ministry said. It did not provide details or say if any suspects detained were foreign nationals.

Turkey has carried out such raids in the past.

IS has carried out deadly attacks in Turkey over the years, including a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations in 2017 that killed 39 people.

In December, IS militants clashed with police in northwest Turkey, leaving three police officers and six militants dead, as police stormed a house where militants were hiding.

Last month, three assailants opened fire at police outside a building housing the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, sparking a gunfight that left one attacker dead. Interior Minister Mustafa Cifti said at the time that at least one assailant had links to a group he described as “exploiting religion,” without naming it.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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