Turkish police have detained 324 suspects in operations targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across 47 provinces, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
The raids were carried out in coordination with the Security Directorate General, the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and chief public prosecutors’ offices in provinces including Ankara, Istanbul and İzmir, the ministry said.
The suspects included people wanted on outstanding warrants, individuals accused of providing financial support to ISIL and those found to have previously operated within the group.
Police also seized one handgun, four rifles, 122 rounds of ammunition and financial assets worth 9.67 million Turkish lira (about $213,000), according to the ministry. Authorities also confiscated organizational documents and digital materials linked to the group.
The operations came amid heightened scrutiny of ISIL activity in Turkey following an April 7 attack outside the Israeli Consulate General in İstanbul, where gunmen opened fire on police officers. Two officers were wounded and one of the attackers was killed in the ensuing shootout.
Turkish media later identified the slain attacker as Yunus Emre Sarban, who had previously been subjected to counterterrorism measures over alleged ISIS links. His assets were frozen in 2021, but the restrictions were lifted in 2024 after authorities said “reasonable suspicion” against him had been removed.
On April 20 Turkish authorities announced the arrest of 90 additional suspects with alleged ISIL ties in operations spanning 24 provinces. The Interior Ministry said the detainees included suspected members of the group, financiers and individuals accused of spreading propaganda.
Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria, has faced multiple ISIL-linked attacks over the past decade, including the 2017 Reina nightclub attack in İstanbul that killed 39 people. Turkish authorities regularly conduct raids against suspected ISIS cells and facilitators operating in the country.
While Turkey has officially designated ISIL as a terrorist organization and conducted periodic raids on its cells, intelligence reports and previous court cases have shown that ISIL financial couriers and facilitators have operated from Turkish cities, particularly along the southern border.
Opposition lawmakers have previously accused the government of failing to prevent or properly investigate the presence of ISIL militants in Turkey.