Turkey detains 115 IS suspects plotting Christmas attacks
Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced on Thursday that 115 suspects believed to be planning attacks across Turkey, particularly against non-Muslim people, were detained in operations.
Counterterrorism police were running an investigation into Daesh ahead of new year and Christmas celebrations in Muslim-majority Turkey. Upon intelligence that Daesh was issuing calls to its members to carry out attacks, operations were planned, and authorities issued arrest warrants for 137 suspects.
All were linked to Daesh members in other countries, and some already had outstanding arrest warrants in previous investigations. Police raided 124 locations across the city, capturing suspects and seizing weapons, as well as Daesh propaganda materials. Operations are underway to capture the suspects at large.
On Wednesday, security forces in central Turkey’s Kırşehir province captured 10 suspects in an operation against Daesh, including a suspect identified as a relative of slain Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Turkish authorities are on alert against potential Daesh attacks during Christmas and New Year's celebrations, as the country suffered from such an attack years ago. On Jan. 1, 2017, a Daesh gunman stormed a popular nightclub by the Bosporus and killed 39 people. This was, however, a less severe attack compared to the 2015 suicide bombings at an Ankara train station, which killed more than 100 people.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) captured Mehmet Gören, a senior Daesh-K terrorist figure who was tasked with carrying out a suicide attack on behalf of the terrorist group, in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and brought him to Turkey, security sources said Monday.
According to the sources, MIT identified an individual of Turkish descent operating within Daesh along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border following extensive intelligence work. The suspect was found to have taken an active role in Daesh camps and risen through the ranks to a managerial position over time.
Investigations revealed that Gören had been operating alongside Özgür Altun, code-named “Abu Yasir al-Turki,” who previously played an active role in transferring Daesh elements from Turkey to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and was later captured, brought back to Turkey and arrested.
Intelligence findings also indicated that Gören had agreed to carry out suicide attacks targeting civilians living in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey and Europe.
MIT determined that the suspect, operating under the code name “Yahya,” was Mehmet Gören, a senior figure within Daesh-K, and had been assigned by the terrorist group to conduct suicide operations.
Further assessments showed that Gören had traveled from Turkey to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, operated in Daesh camps there and advanced to a leadership role. He was also reported to have survived airstrikes targeting Daesh elements in Pakistan.
Source: Daily Sabah