By Xinhua
Ankara : One police officer was killed in a clash during raids on suspected al-Qaida cells in southeastern province of Gaziantep in Turkey, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported Thursday.
During the operation, four police officers were also injured in the raids that targeted three separate houses belonging to the radical Islamic group.
According to Anatolia, two people linked to the group were killed while 18 people were detained during the raids in Gaziantepand Kahramanmaras provinces.
Early on Thursday morning, there was a large explosion at TekelStreet in Karsiyaka district where police took extensive security measures and the operation was still under way, the report added.
Meanwhile, security cordons had been set up around the targeted areas, where armored vehicles and ambulances were stationed, it said.
Police found a large number of weapons and documents, linking the suspects to the Islamic radical group, reported the website of broadcaster CNN Turk.