5 ISIL suspects arrested in Kocaeli

KOCAELİ

Five ISIL suspects have been arrested in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.

Found out to carry out activities within the ISIL terrorist organization, these five suspects were detained during an operation within the efforts underway to decipher and prevent the activities of the group, the provincial security directorate said in a written statement.

The suspects were arrested by the judge’s office following their procedures at the police station.

In 2013, Türkiye became one of the first countries to declare ISIL a terrorist group.

The country has since been attacked by ISIL terrorists multiple times, with at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed attacks, killing 315 people and injuring hundreds more.

Meanwhile, 11 people, including seven FETÖ members and a PKK/KCK member, were caught trying to illegally cross from Türkiye to Greece and from Bulgaria to Türkiye, the Defense Ministry announced.

The ministry also informed that two PKK terrorists were “neutralized” in the Operation Claw-Lock region.

Neutralized is a term used by the Turkish military and officials to indicate terrorists were either killed, wounded, or captured.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.