Turkey detains IS suspects planning 'poll sabotage'

Turkish authorities detained today 19 suspected Islamic State supporters in the Aegean city of Izmir, accused of planning to "sabotage" voting in the weekend referendum on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers, state media reported.
Ten Turks and nine Syrian citizens connected to the Islamic State group (IS) were picked up during raids by police and intelligence officers in the city, state-run news agency Anadolu said.
The detentions came after Izmir police launched an investigation into planned attacks aimed at stopping people from going to vote, Anadolu said.
It added the suspects were planning to "sabotage" voting, without specifying how.

The agency said several "organisation documents" and "vests" were found as well as "digital material" that would be further investigated. There was no indication that any arms or explosives had been found.
The 19 suspects were alleged to have been in contact with Is;amic State members inside Syria, Anadolu said.

In the latest issue of its magazine Al-Naba, IS called for attacks against polling stations in Turkey.
Turks will vote on Sunday to decide whether to approve constitutional changes that would create an executive presidency and axe the role of prime minister.
Turkey has been hit by a series of attacks in the last 18 months blamed on IS and Kurdish militants. The jihadist group has threatened further attacks.

The last major attack IS claimed was on January 1 when an armed man stormed an elite Istanbul nightclub and shot 39 people dead during New Year celebrations.