ISTANBUL, Oct. 29 -- Turkish police on Tuesday detained 26 people, including 12 Syrians, in northwestern Turkey over their suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, local media reported.

Police launched operations simultaneously in several locations in the province of Bursa to capture the suspects, the state-run TRT broadcaster said.

The Syrians will be sent to the repatriation center in Bursa for deportation, TRT added, without identifying the nationalities of the other detainees.

Police detained 23 foreign suspects in operations conducted in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, the previous day.

The IS was blamed for a spate of deadly attacks over the years in Turkey, in which more than 300 people were killed.