ANKARA - Turkish police today detained four suspected Islamic State jihadists who were allegedly planning an attack on May Day celebrations in the capital Ankara, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.

Initial investigations showed that the four were Syrian citizens who had been in Ankara for some time, the agency added, without giving details on the nature of the attack.

Turkey is on high alert after a string of attacks blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants this year. Earlier today, two police were killed in a car bomb attack on the police headquarters in the city of Gaziantep.

Turkish authorities have blamed IS for the double suicide bombing on a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara last October that killed 103 people, the bloodiest attack in the country’s history. - AFP