Turkey detains 197 illegal immigrants, 10 suspected smugglers

Ankara, Feb 12 Turkish security forces detained 197 illegal immigrants and 10 suspected human smugglers in the western province of Izmir, state-run TRT broadcaster reported.

The immigrants, whose nationalities were not immediately known, were detained on a boat sailing toward Italy, while the suspected human smugglers were captured on the boat and land, Xinhua news agency quoted the TRT report as saying.

Unmanned aerial vehicles were used in the raids, according to the report.

As a key transit point for asylum seekers on their way to Europe, Turkey hosts more than 4 million refugees, 3.7 million of whom are Syr.

Turkish authorities earlier announced that they could no longer cope with the issue alone, and urged European countries to take more responsibility.