9 ISIL members arrested: Ministry

ANKARA

Nine ISIL members, who were identified as seeking action in Türkiye, were arrested in an operation organized in Syria’s al-Bab region with the coordination of the southeastern province of Gaziantep gendarmerie, the Interior Ministry has announced.

The so-called action units of the terrorist organization in Syria provided education on suicide bombing, sabotage, attack, hand-made explosives, assassination and intelligence, the ministry stated.

Besides, security forces determined that the terrorists were recently in search of action in Türkiye.

Within the operation held in the al-Bab region on Oct. 22, a total of nine ISIL members, including logistic officers Muhammed Elabeyo and Adnan El Şuaan and financial officer Omer Elşuvyh, were detained.

Naci El Maraşlı, who was responsible for the assassination and execution in the so-called regional action unit on behalf of the terrorist organization in the Damascus Province, was also arrested.

During the investigations carried out in the houses of the suspects, a large number of digital materials were seized.

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.