ISTANBUL, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained 16 suspects on Thursday over alleged links to the Islamic State (IS), in Trkiye's largest city, Istanbul, according to authorities.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that arrest warrants had been issued for 23 individuals suspected of operating as "foreign terrorist fighters" within the organization.

Following the warrants, police carried out extensive operations across the city to apprehend the suspects.

So far, 16 of them have been detained, and efforts are ongoing to locate and detain the remaining seven fugitives.

Trkiye officially designated IS as a terrorist organization in 2013 and has since been targeted by the group in multiple attacks. In response, Ankara has launched numerous counter-terrorism operations both domestically and abroad.