Turkish police forces detained 35 Islamic State terrorists in nationwide raids

Turkish security forces detained at least 35 suspects, including foreign nationals Wednesday over alleged links to the Daesh terrorist organization.

The counterterrorism squads and special operations squads conducted simultaneous operations across Istanbul to nab eight suspects after technical and physical monitoring.

Four Turkish nationals, a Syrian, Uzbek, Kyrgyz and an Iraqi national were detained in a raid in the Bağcılar district, Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported.

Multiple documents and digital materials were seized in the operations.

Separately, as many as 27 Daesh suspects were nabbed in 33 separate locations in 11 provinces. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining ones.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group.

The country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terrorist operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.

Turkey detained Daesh’s so-called “Turkish emir,” Mahmut Özden, in August. He was planning to carry out an attack on the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and target politicians, nongovernmental organization (NGO) heads and other prominent figures in Turkey, according to the official investigation.

Police deciphered Daesh’s encrypted messages sent by the terrorist group’s ringleaders in Syria and Iraq, which featured a wide range of instructions, including kidnapping tourist groups, prosecutors and deputies, and attacking the Incirlik Air Base in Adana, as well as other plans.

Source: Daily Sabah