Turkish police have detained 147 suspects with alleged links to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in simultaneous raids across 33 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.
Yerlikaya announced on X on Thursday that the suspects were detained as part of the “Heroes-49” operation.
3️⃣3️⃣ İlde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik eş zamanlı olarak gerçekleştirilen “KAHRAMANLAR-49” operasyonlarında 1️⃣4️⃣7️⃣ şüpheli yakalandı❗
Aziz Milletimizin huzuru, birlik ve beraberliği için teröristlerin hiçbirine göz açtırmayacağız. Güvenlik güçlerimizin üstün gayretleriyle… pic.twitter.com/eTS4sN6nch
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) February 8, 2024
The crackdown on alleged ISIL members comes in the wake of a deadly attack by two ISIL militants on a Roman Catholic church in İstanbul in late January.
The attack took place during a service at the church in Sarıyer neighborhood on January 28 and claimed the life of a Turkish citizen, identified as 52-year-old Tuncer Cihan, who was not a member of the congregation.
In its statement on the day of the attack ISIL said the attack had been carried out in response to the group leader’s call to kill Jews and Christians everywhere.
Following the incident, 51 ISIL suspects were detained in operations across the country in connection with the attack.
The detainees appeared before a court, with 10 of them arrested, while the remaining five were placed under judicial supervision.
Turkey declared ISIL a terrorist organization in 2013 and has been attacked by the group multiple times since then. A total of 315 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb blasts and four armed attacks carried out by ISIL in the country.
In December of last year Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged links to the so-called Islamic State jihadists who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues as well as the Iraqi Embassy.