Turkey detains Daesh suspects in Antalya ahead of G-20

ANKARA — Turkish police swooped on Daesh suspects in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya on Friday, barely 10 days ahead of a summit of world leaders, local media reported.

Turkey also deported a group of Moroccans detained on suspicion they were planning to head to Syria to join Daesh militants, reports said.

The country, shaken by a string of deadly attacks blamed on Daesh militants, is on high alert ahead of the Group of 20 gathering on November 15-16 that will bring together a host of leaders including US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Syrian conflict and the international fight against Daesh are set to top the agenda, particularly after the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt that the US and Britain say was most likely brought down by a bomb.

Turkish police detained 20 people in Antalya, the Dogan news agency reported, adding that the suspects, two of whom are Russians, were "in contact with Daesh militants in Iraq and in Syria".

Turkey has been on the hunt for Daesh extremists since twin bombings on a peace rally in Ankara last month that killed 102 people, the worst such attack in its history.

Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu had said last  week that Ankara was planning further military action against the militants in the "coming days", without giving details. 

Police in Istanbul also detained 44 Moroccans and their Syrian guide who flew in from Casablanca on Wednesday, after passengers said they might be planning to join Daesh.

About half have already been deported and the rest are to be expelled Friday, Dogan said.

Police also caught six people, five of them foreigners, attempting to cross into Syria on Friday, officials said.

Adding to concerns about Daesh, two sisters aged 18 and 20 have been missing since attending an Islamist training camp in Istanbul late last month, raising fears they have been recruited by the militants.

The government says hundreds of Turks have already joined the extremists in Syria although the actual number could be much higher. 

Turkey shares a porous 911-kilometre border with Syria, and is hosting more than 2.2 million refugees from the war.

The latest crackdown came after Sunday's election which saw President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party regain the parliamentary majority it lost in June. 

Erdogan has vowed to press ahead with operations against all "terrorists" including Daesh and Kurdish rebels.