Turkish authorities have detained 54 suspected Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) members in Istanbul, police said on Tuesday. All of those detained were foreign nationals who are believed to be preparing to travel to conflict zones in Syria. It was not reported when the detentions took place. Ankara’s operations against IS suspects intensified at the end of last year after numerous bombings across the country in recent years. Turkish officials said on April 27 that a close associate of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been caught in the western Turkish province of Izmir in a joint cooperation of the police and national intelligence agency.