Turkey rounds up 189 ISIL suspects: minister

Turkish authorities have detained scores of suspects over alleged links to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in a nationwide sweep ahead of New Year celebrations, the interior minister said on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported.

Posting on X, Ali Yerlikaya said 189 suspects had been detained as part of simultaneous operations dubbed “HEROES-38” carried out in 37 cities including İstanbul.

3️⃣7️⃣ İlde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik eş zamanlı olarak düzenlenen “KAHRAMANLAR-38” Operasyonlarında 1️⃣8️⃣9️⃣ şahıs yakalandı❗

Aziz Milletimizin Bilmesini isterim ki;
Ülkemizin huzuru, birlik ve beraberliği için teröristlerin hiçbirine göz açtırmayacağız. Milletimizin duası,… pic.twitter.com/4hsQsI7zfc

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 30, 2023

Twenty-seven suspects were detained in Ankara alone and 22 in Istanbul, he said.

Turkey has in recent months intensified operations against alleged members of ISIL who have claimed a number of deadly attacks on Turkish soil including the January 1, 2017 attack on a nightclub in İstanbul that killed 39 people.

On Friday, Turkish security forces detained 32 ISIL suspects including three senior members who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues as well as the Iraqi Embassy.