 group in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.){kind=link}
Turkish police have rounded up scores of suspects with alleged links to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.
During simultaneous raids carried out in 30 cities across the country, 147 suspects were detained, Yerlikaya announced on X. He said the suspects were detained as part of the “Bozdağan-17” operation.
The minister also provided information on the operations against suspected ISIL members in the country between June 1, 2023 and March 25, saying 2,919 ISIL suspects were detained in 1,329 operations, 692 of whom were arrested, while 531 were released under judicial supervision and 187 of them are still in police custody.
3️⃣0️⃣ ilde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik eş zamanlı olarak gerçekleştirilen “BOZDOĞAN-17” operasyonlarında 1️⃣4️⃣7️⃣ şüpheli yakalandı❗
⚠️1 Haziran 2023-25 Mart 2024 tarihleri arasında DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik toplam 1️⃣.3⃣2⃣9⃣ operasyon düzenlendi.
📌Operasyonlarda 2️⃣ bin 9️⃣1️⃣9️⃣… pic.twitter.com/j8yCn7JWSy— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) March 26, 2024
The latest detentions come in the wake of a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed 137 people and was claimed by ISIL on the group’s Telegram channel.
Russia detained 11 suspects in connection with the attack, and initial reports show that they are Tajik citizens, indicating a possible connection to ISIL’s Afghan branch, the Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).
A person identified as one of the gunmen in the attack on the Moscow concert hall said he traveled to Russia from Turkey on March 4, according to a video of the suspect’s interrogation published by the Russian state-run RT news outlet.
A report by the US Department of State in 2022 showed Turkey is a source and transit country for foreign (terrorist) fighters (FTF) seeking to join ISIL and other terrorist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, as well as for FTFs who seek to depart Syria and Iraq.
Turkey designated ISIL as 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.