Turkish authorities detained 27 people for suspected Islamic State links

The Turkish police detained 27 people for suspected ties to the Islamic State (ISIS) in an operation on Sunday, the Istanbul Police Directorate said in a statement.

Senior ISIS members have ordered cells in Turkey “to take action against social media posts that have insulted our prophet,” the statement said.

Istanbul police units carried out simultaneous operations in 15 districts on Sunday and detained a total of 27 people.

“Searches at the individuals’ residences have revealed large amounts of digital documents and rifle magazines,” the police said.

Last week, the Washington Times reported a spike in ISIS activity in Turkish-controlled areas in northern Syria.

Monday marks the fifth anniversary of an ISIS bombing against a youth group in Suruç, a town on Turkey’s border with Syria near the Şanlıurfa province. The Suruç bombing, which left 33 people dead and some 100 wounded, was among a series of ISIS-related attacks in 2015. In October of the same year, a bomb went off during a peace rally in Ankara, killing 109 people and injuring some 500 others.

ISIS also carried out several attacks in Istanbul’s touristic and nightlife hotspots in 2016 and 2017.

Source: Ahval News