Turkish police teams have captured two suspected members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) extremist group who were allegedly plotting a bomb attack in İstanbul, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The suspected ISIL members were detected by the anti-terrorism and intelligence units of the İstanbul Police Department due to internet searches for bomb-making information. Following technical and physical surveillance, the police detained them in separate apartments within the same building in İstanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district on Tuesday.
During searches of the suspects’ residences, the police seized high-precision explosives, including triacetone triperoxide (TATP), as well as large quantities of chemicals used in bomb-making. They also found laboratory equipment, camouflage materials, personal protective gear used in laboratories, masks, ISIL flags and various prohibited publications and digital materials.
The suspects, identified only by their initials as D.K. and E.S., had been arrested on terrorism charges due to their links to ISIL in 2021 and released from prison in 2023, Anadolu said.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on X on Tuesday the detention of 54 people with suspected links to ISIL in recent police operations conducted in 18 provinces.
The minister said 20 of the suspects have been arrested and 11 have been released under judicial supervision while the questioning of 23 is ongoing.
The suspects were detained on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization, disseminating terrorist propaganda and aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.
18 ilde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik Jandarma tarafından düzenlenen “GÜRZ-26” operasyonlarında 54 şüpheli yakalandı❗
⛔20'si Tutuklandı.
⛔11'i hakkında adli kontrol kararı verildi.
Diğerlerinin işlemleri devam ediyor.Afyonkarahisar, Aydın, Bursa, Erzurum, Eskişehir, Hatay,… pic.twitter.com/xIKWrvT3mB
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) November 26, 2024
Various bombings and attacks by ISIL have killed at least 315 people and injured hundreds in Turkey since the group was declared a terrorist organization in 2013.
The latest ISIL attack, which targeted a Catholic church, the Santa Maria Church, in İstanbul in January resulted in the death of one man and injuries to several others, including the church’s pastor.