Turk police detain five al Qaeda suspects - TV

ISTANBUL, June 24 (Reuters) Turkish police have detained five people suspected of being linked to the Islamic militant group al Qaeda, broadcaster CNN Turk reported today.

The operation in Istanbul was connected to security measures surrounding a summit of heads of state from Black Sea countries which starts in Istanbul on Monday, CNN reported.

Police could not confirm the report, which follows a swoop in the northwestern province of Bursa last week in which 23 suspects were seized.

Police in Muslim but secular Turkey have rounded up dozens of al Qaeda suspects since a series of bombings claimed by the group in 2003.

More than 60 people were killed in Istanbul in November that year in attacks on the British Consulate, two synagogues and HSBC bank.

Security is tight in Turkey, which holds a parliamentary election next month, as separatist Kurdish militants have stepped up attacks in the mainly Kurdish southeast and a suicide bomber staged a deadly attack on an Ankara shopping mall last month.

REUTERS SBC VC2015