 in simultaneous raids across eight provinces, according to the interior minister.){kind=link}
Turkish police have detained 24 suspects with alleged links to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in simultaneous raids across eight provinces, according to the interior minister.
Ali Yerlikaya announced on X on Saturday that the suspects were detained as part of the “Bozdoğan-15” operation.
8️⃣ ilde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik eş zamanlı olarak gerçekleştirilen “BOZDOĞAN-15” operasyonlarında 2️⃣4️⃣ şüpheli yakalandı❗
Aziz Milletimizin Bilmesini İsterim ki,
Teröristlerin hiçbirine göz açtırmayacağız. Milletimizin duası ve desteği, güvenlik güçlerimizin üstün… pic.twitter.com/2WpPgBKEpb— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) March 23, 2024
The crackdown on alleged ISIL members comes in the wake of a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 100 people and was claimed by ISIL on the group’s Telegram channel.
Russia detained 11 suspects in connection with the attack, and initial reports indicate that they are Tajik citizens, indicating a possible connection to ISIL’s Afghan branch, the Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).
Two ISIL militants carried out a deadly attack on a Roman Catholic church in İstanbul in late January. One of the attackers was a Tajik and the other was Russian.
The attack took place during a service at the church in Sarıyer 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 ISIL said the attack had been carried out in response to the group leader’s call to kill Jews and Christians everywhere.
According to Turkish authorities, ISIL-K uses Turkey as a conduit for the transportation of fighters from Central Asia and Russia to conflict zones in Syria and Afghanistan.
ISIL-K operatives allegedly transported weapons and explosives and hid them in underground locations.
One ISIL-K operative who was specifically tasked with organizing the transit of Central Asian fighters to Syria since 2015 and providing them with accommodations and false identities for their journey to conflict zones in Afghanistan, told Turkish authorities in January about foiled plans for attacks on the Swedish consulate in İstanbul and religious sites near Taksim Square, including churches and synagogues, due to difficulties in obtaining weapons and explosives.
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 attacks carried out by ISIL in the country.