Turkish authorities have detained 304 people suspected of having ties to terrorist group Islamic State in operations across 32 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.

The majority of the suspects were detained in Türkiye's three biggest cities of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, Yerlikaya said on social messaging platform X. He said the operation, "Operation Heroes-34," was carried out simultaneously across the country.

"We will not allow any terrorists to open their eyes, for the peace and unity of our people. We will continue our battle with the intense efforts of our security forces," he said, sharing footage of the operations that showed police entering apartments and buildings and dragging suspects into vehicles.

Islamic State controlled one-third of Iraq and Syria at its 2014 peak. Though beaten back, it continues to wage insurgent attacks.

It has conducted numerous attacks across Türkiye, including on a nightclub in Istanbul on January 1, 2017, in which 39 people were killed.

Authorities have ramped up operations against Islamic State and Kurdish militants in recent weeks after Kurdish militants detonated a bomb near government buildings in Ankara on October 1.

Türkiye regularly conducts operations at home and in northern Iraq on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it regards as a terrorist organization. The PKK has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

(Cover: The aftermath of an attempted bomb attack on the Interior Ministry in Ankara on October 1, 2023, in Ankara, Türkiye. /CFP)