In a significant crackdown on terrorism, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Friday that police forces have apprehended 119 individuals suspected of affiliations with the terrorist organization ISIS.
This week’s arrests spanned 23 provinces, including major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, as detailed by Yerlikaya on the social media platform “X”.
This latest operation continues Turkey’s vigorous efforts against ISIS, following last week’s announcement of 65 arrests linked to the same terrorist group.
Since July 1st, more than 3,600 suspects have been detained across Turkey, reflecting the nation’s ongoing commitment to dismantling terrorist networks.
Many of the detained suspects had settled in Turkey following the 2019 collapse of ISIS.
Turkey has been a frequent target of deadly attacks by the group, including a notorious assault on an Istanbul nightclub in 2017, which resulted in 39 fatalities.
This persistent threat underscores the critical nature of Turkey’s counterterrorism operations.
Earlier this month, Turkey confirmed the neutralisation of four “terrorists” after they infiltrated from Iraq using paragliders.
In a statement on the X platform on Sunday, Yerlikaya detailed that an Akinci drone operated by the Turkish Land Forces tracked two flying objects crossing the border into the southeastern Şırnak province near Mount Dogon.
The minister emphasized that the terrorists were neutralized following an engagement and the capture of their paragliders.
Additionally, weapons and other materials in the possession of the terrorists were seized. Turkey uses the term “neutralise” to denote militants killed, captured, or wounded by its forces.
This operation comes in the context of Turkey’s ongoing efforts against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Turkish military initiated “Operation Claw-Lock” against PKK strongholds in the Metina, Zap, and Avashin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq on April 17, 2022.
