Turkish authorities on Wednesday launched a nationwide sweep targeting suspects accused of wiretapping top officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media said.

The chief prosecutor's office in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 54 people of whom 40 have been arrested so far, the official Anatolia news agency reported.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim reportedly carried out positive discussions with officials in Turkey, which could lead to a breakthrough to the six-month hostage crisis, as sources said that the case could end in days.

According to An Nahar newspaper, the Islamist abductors agreed to release the kidnapped servicemen on two or three batches after the cabinet expressed leniency towards the release of Islamist inmates from Lebanese prisons, adding that the jihadists demanded a ransom to kickstart the prisoners swap deal.

Three teenage girls from London feared to have run off to join the Islamic State (IS) group are believed to have crossed from Turkey into Syria, British police said Tuesday.

Close friends Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, boarded a flight from London Gatwick to Istanbul last Tuesday. Their families launched a public appeal for them to return home.

Ruling party and opposition lawmakers turned the Turkish parliament into a battlefield once again Tuesday during an 18-hour session debating a contentious bill to broaden police powers.

Several deputies were injured in a third outbreak of serious fighting within a week in the Turkish parliament, as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) seeks to push through the contentious homeland security bill.

General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim is awaiting the green light to head to Istanbul to tackle the case of so-called Arsal captives, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to the daily, Ibrahim only traveled to the United Arab of Emirates, denying talks about his trip to Turkey where he allegedly met with Qatari intelligence chief Ghanim al-Kubaisi.

Turkey's decision to evacuate an historic tomb and the soldiers guarding it from Syrian territory was not a retreat, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, rejecting opposition claims Ankara had surrendered the area to jihadists. 

Erdogan indicated the operation overnight Saturday was motivated by concerns the tomb and its Turkish guards could have come under attack by Islamic State (IS) militants who control the area.

A Swedish journalist has been freed from captivity in Syria after a week-long detention by Syrian government forces, local media reported Sunday. 

Joakim Medin, a 30-year-old freelance reporter, told the Expressen newspaper that he was seized at a road block along with his Kurdish interpreter Sabri Omar while working in the Kurdish town of Qamishli on the border with Turkey.

Turkish prosecutors on Friday launched an investigation into claims by pro-government media that the top foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had ordered the assassination of his daughter.

Pro-government dailies Star, Aksam and Gunes alleged on their front pages on Friday that the plot to assassinate 29-year-old Sumeyye Erdogan had been ordered by U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the president accuses of seeking to overthrow him.

The United States and Turkey on Thursday signed a deal to train and equip Syrian rebel forces, officials said.

"Turkey and the United States signed a document a short time ago on the train-and-equip (program)," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.

Turkey on Thursday bluntly told Libya's internationally recognized prime minister to stop making "irresponsible" and "hostile" comments after he accused Ankara of meddling in the affairs of his conflict-ravaged country.

"We expect interim government officials to revise their irresponsible attitude toward our country and avoid hostile and groundless statements," the foreign ministry said in a statement.