BRITISH tourists visiting Turkey have been urged to
avoid public transport over terror attack fears in a shock new warning from the
Foreign Office.
Advice
posted on the Foreign Office website yesterday said: "On 27 July there
were reports of possible threats to public transport in Istanbul."
The
metro stations most at risk are Taksim, Osmanbey, Yenikapi and Haciosman, the
statement added.
It
followed the leak of an internal memo from Turkish police warning of the
threat.
More
than 2.5million Britons visit Turkey every year – but the Foreign Office has now
advised against all but essential travel to certain regions.
The
warning comes after Turkey's Prime Minister revealed that 1,000 people have
been detained in a crackdown on militant groups including ISIS and the DHKP-C
(Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front).
Up
to 60 foreigners were among those detained by terror police, who have carried
out a series of raids in the past few days, according to AhmetDavutoglu.
The
first raids took place on Friday morning, with 5,000 armed police and special
forces agents storming more than 100 addresses across the country.
Some
took place on coastal resorts popular with British holidaymakers, such as the
western town of Izmir, close to Bodrum and the Greek islands.
Their
fightback against ISIS began after the barbaric group claimed responsibility
for a bomb attack in the Turkish town of Suruc that killed 32 people.
Kurdish
groups held the Turkish government responsible for the blast, saying it had not
been aggressive in battling the so-called caliphate.
The
country has also opened up its bases to warplanes and attacked Kurdish
militants in northern Iraq – leading to worries that ISIS will retaliate.
Other
militant groups targeted in the crackdown include the ultra-left Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) and DHKP-C.
Three
Turkish policeman were killed in violent clashes last week - with the PKK
claiming responsibility for two of the deaths.
The
PKK has been fighting Turkey for autonomy since 1984 and is considered a
terrorist organisation by the country's government and its allies
Following the recent attacks, the Foreign Office has warned tourists: "There's a high threat from
terrorism in Turkey.
"There
are active terrorist groups throughout the country.
"These
include domestic religious extremist and ideological groups, and international
groups involved in the conflict in Syria.
"Attacks
could be indiscriminate and could affect places visited by foreigners."
Holidaymakers
have also been told to stay away from the Syrian border.
By Tom Parfitt