'Daesh' jihadist blows himself up, injuring 5 police in Turkey

A suspected Islamic State jihadist blew himself up in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border during a police raid, injuring five officers, one seriously, officials said Sunday.

The suspect detonated explosives when police raided an apartment building in the town of Gaziantep suspected of being a jihadist hideout, the governor's office said in a statement.

The raid was conducted as part of the investigation into a double suicide bombing on October 10 in Ankara that killed 102 activists gathering for a peace rally, Turkish media said.

The attack came as leaders gathered in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, 500 kilometres (300 miles) to the west, for a G20 summit where the fight against terrorism was a major discussion point, following this weekend's Paris attacks.

On Saturday, four suspected IS militants travelling by car were shot dead by the army when they approached a military checkpoint in Gaziantep.

Also on Saturday, the police arrested seven suspected IS members in Ankara, state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

The same day, IS claimed responsibility for the gun and suicide attacks that killed 129 people across Paris late Friday.

A suicide vest, assault rifles, ammunition and other explosive devices were found in the raid at Gaziantep, the official statement said.

Turkey has been on the hunt for IS extremists after a series of deadly attacks including bombings on October 10 in Ankara which killed 107 people.
Source: AFP