15 ISIL suspects arrested over West’s consulate closures

ANKARA

A total of 15 ISIL suspects, who allegedly received action orders against some consulates general and places of worship of Christian and Jewish citizens, have been arrested, with the police announcing that no concrete threat was detected.

Istanbul police’s anti-terror unit started efforts to decipher the activities of the group and to apprehend the suspects after nine Western countries - the U.S., France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden - temporarily closed their consulates following issuing security alerts for their citizens over an alleged terror attack that would target foreigners in downtown Istanbul.

In line with the information provided by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the teams detained ISIL’s 15 local leaders in Khorasan province who claimed of being ordered to act against the Swedish and Dutch consulates in Istanbul and places of worship belonging to Christian-Jewish citizens in reaction to the burning of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

The suspects were found to have connections with the group and its conflict zones, but their concrete threats against the consulates general and places of worship of Christian and Jewish citizens could not be detected, police said, adding that they were transferred to the courthouse after the procedures at the police station and were arrested.

The decision taken by the prominent western countries over an unclear security threat is intentional and serving the terror organizations, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Feb. 3, calling on them to fully cooperate with the Turkish authorities if they have concrete intelligence.

The first move came last week from the U.S. Embassy, which announced that they suspended the functions of the consulate in Istanbul due to significant intelligence that foreign missions and religious and touristic spots foreigners highly visit may be targeted by terrorists. Other western consulates followed the U.S. move.