ISTANBUL, Turkey, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Turkish security officials in raids in multiple cities have arrested roughly 50 terror suspects believed to be al-Qaida members.
The raids took place simultaneously in Konya, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli and Mardin, the Turkish news agency Anadolu said Monday.
The suspects had been under surveillance for the past 18 months; there was no word about concrete plans to plot a terror attacks.
German security experts according to Spiegel Online don't expect the arrests to hand a decisive blow to al-Qaida, however.
Turkish authorities on previous occasions have arrested several suspects, most of whom were released again after 24 hours. Nevertheless, the potential terrorist threat in Turkey is great, analysts say.
The arrests come roughly three years after al-Qaida bombings killed 60 people in Istanbul.
