ANKARA — Turkish forces detained 125 suspected so-called Islamic State group (IS) members in coordinated operations across 25 provinces Wednesday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said..

The raids targeted suspects in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and 22 other provinces, according to Yerlikaya.

"Those who target our brotherhood, unity and solidarity — who try to exploit our faith and attack our values — will see only the strength of our state and the unity of our nation before them," he wrote on social media platform X.

Police and gendarmerie forces conducted the operations simultaneously under coordination of the Gendarmerie General Command and Turkish National Police.

Istanbul prosecutors separately announced authorities detained 29 people accused of promoting the IS group on social media platforms.

The Istanbul Security Directorate's Anti-Terror Branch carried out operations at 29 addresses starting at 1 am local time Wednesday under oversight from the Terrorism Crimes Investigation Bureau.

Twenty-eight suspects were allegedly making propaganda for the group on social media while one was found to be actively operating within the organisation, prosecutors said.

Authorities seized digital materials and organisational documents during searches of suspects' residences.

The operations follow last Tuesday's raids in which police detained 357 IS suspects across 21 provinces, mainly in Istanbul and Ankara.

The investigations are linked to a deadly clash in Yalova where three police officers were killed Monday.

During an early morning raid in Yalova province, suspects opened fire on approaching officers, triggering an extended gunfight.

Six IS members were killed in the clash that lasted more than seven hours, Yerlikaya said. Eight police officers and one night watchman were wounded.

All six militants killed were Turkish nationals, according to the minister.

The operation in Elmalik village began at 2 am and concluded at 9:40 am, Yerlikaya said during a press briefing.

Five women and six children at the address were evacuated safely.

Authorities cut electricity and natural gas supplies to the area during the operation while five nearby schools suspended classes.

Turkish security forces have intensified operations against suspected IS cells throughout the holiday period.

On 25 December, Istanbul police detained 115 suspects in raids across 124 locations following intelligence that the group planned attacks during Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Turkey issued arrest warrants for 137 suspects in that operation, seizing pistols, ammunition and organisational documents.

The IS terrorist group has previously carried out several deadly attacks across Turkey.

On 10 October 2015, IS suicide bombers targeted a peace rally outside Ankara's main railway station, killing at least 102 people and injuring more than 400 in what remains the deadliest terror attack in Turkish history. Trials related to the attack are still ongoing.

On 1 January 2017, a gunman attacked Reina nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations, killing 39 people.

Between 2015 and 2017, IS was also responsible for attacks at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, as well as in Suruç and Diyarbakır, in which hundreds of civilians were killed.

While IS lost hold of all of the territory it once held in Syria and Iraq years ago, cells of the extremist group have continued to carry out attacks in both countries and abroad.

The US carried out strikes against IS militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while Australian police said two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to have been inspired by the group. — Agencies