Turkey detains 23 in anti-al Qaeda swoop: agency

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police have detained 23 people suspected of being linked to Islamic militant group al Qaeda, state-run news agency Anatolian said on Wednesday.

The swoop is the latest of several in mainly Muslim but secular Turkey, which has been targeted by al Qaeda militants in the past. Anatolian, quoting a statement from the provincial governor's office, said the suspects were seized in the northwestern province of Bursa.

Officials at the governor's office could not confirm the details.

More than 60 people were killed in a series of attacks claimed by a cell of al Qaeda in Istanbul in November 2003 and since then operations against militants have been common. The British Consulate, two synagogues and HSBC bank in Istanbul were targeted.

Tensions are running high in Turkey -- which holds a parliamentary election next month -- as separatist Kurdish militants have stepped up attacks in the mainly Kurdish southeast. Authorities also blamed a deadly attack in Ankara last month on Kurdish militants.