Ankara (Turkey), 31 December (LaPresse/AP) – Turkish authorities have continued nationwide operations against suspected members of the Islamic State, arresting 125 people in simultaneous raids in 25 provinces. Last week, police arrested hundreds of suspected ISIS members in nationwide raids aimed at preventing possible attacks during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Members of a suspected ISIS cell opened fire on police conducting one of these raids in the northwestern province of Yalova on Monday. Six suspected ISIS members and three police officers were killed in the clashes, while eight other officers and a night guard were injured when security forces raided a house used as a hideout. Authorities said all the militants were Turkish citizens. Home Secretary Ali Yerlikaya said today's raids were coordinated by the police and gendarmerie and were carried out in cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Yalova. ‘Those who target our brotherhood, our unity and our union; those who seek to exploit our faith and attack our values will face nothing but the power of our state and the unity of our nation,’ Yerlikaya said in a social media post. ISIS has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Turkey, most notably a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year's Eve celebrations on 1 January 2017, in which 39 people were killed.