Turkish police arrested Istanbul’s mayor - a popular opposition leader and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links, writes AP.

It was a dramatic escalation in an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkey.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued detention warrants for the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, and some 100 other people. Among those detained was Imamoglu’s close aide, Murat Ongun.

Authorities also closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest.

The arrest came during a search of Imamoglu’s home, but it was not immediately clear if police confiscated anything at the site. The mayor’s wife, Dilek Imamoglu, told the private Now television station that police arrived at their residence before dawn and that the mayor was taken at around 7:30 a.m.