The operation was carried out by the anti-terrorism department of Istanbul police to uncover terrorist activities and identify financial sources of terrorist organizations, Xinhua news agency quoted state-run Anadolu Agency as saying.

Police learned that the suspects posted advertisements on social media platforms claiming to offer "winter stove and fuel assistance," "sacrificed animal assistance during Eid al-Adha," and "assistance for families in refugee camps." Had done.

The report said the funds collected in both US dollars and cryptocurrencies were redirected to IS and al-Qaeda members, including their spouses and children living in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria. .

It said the camp was under the control of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and its Syrian ally, the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

After identifying the suspects, police conducted simultaneous operations at five locations in Istanbul and caught the suspects with several digital documents.

The Turkish government designated IS as a terrorist organization in 2013 and blamed it for a series of deadly attacks in the country since 2015.

Turkey's southern border with Syria has been a major transit route for Syrians and foreign fighters since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.