Ankara, Nov 10 (IANS): Turkish authorities have detained at least 19 people with alleged links to the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Anti-terror police in Ankara on Wednesday launched raids in the premised of 15 foreign nationals over their alleged ties with the IS, some of whom had been active inside the group in past years, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media.

At least 12 of the suspects were detained in the raids, the TRT stated.

Meanwhile, the Turkish security forces detained four IS suspects in southeastern Batman province.

Two Syrians in southeastern Sanliurfa province and another in central Kayseri were also detained for their alleged links to the IS.

The Turkish government designated the IS a terrorist organisation in 2013, blaming it for a spate of deadly attacks in the country since 2015.

Turkey's southern border with Syria has been a popular crossing point for civilians and foreign fighters since the's civil war broke out in 2011.