Seven Turkish police wounded in clash with Islamic State militants

By Umit Bektas

YALOVA, Turkey, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Seven Turkish police officers were wounded in a clash with suspected Islamic State militants in northwest Turkey on Monday and a police operation against them was ongoing, a Reuters witness and state media reported.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard at the scene of the clash in Yalova province, south of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara coast, where police teams launched an overnight operation at a house believed to contain militants, the witness said.

Police sealed off the road approaching the house and one officer said the operation was still under way, the witness added. Smoke rose from a nearby fire and a police helicopter flew overhead, with several ambulances and fire engines in attendance.

Turkish police last week detained 115 suspected Islamic State members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country.

State broadcaster TRT Haber said on Monday that the wounded police officers had been taken to nearby hospitals and were not in a serious condition.

The suspects had opened fire on police as they launched the operation around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT) on the outskirts of Yalova town, broadcaster NTV reported. Police special forces were sent to the scene from neighbouring Bursa province to provide support, it added.

The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said last week that Islamic State militants were planning attacks against non-Muslims in particular.

Almost a decade ago the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkey, including a gun attack on an Istanbul nightclub and the city's main airport, killing dozens of people.

(Reporting by Umit Bektas and Daren ButlerEditing by Tom Hogue, Raju Gopalakrishnan and David Goodman)