Law enforcement detain 100 suspects in ISIL raids
ANKARA
Authorities have detained 100 suspects in a sweeping week-long operation targeting ISIL across 24 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Jan. 28.
"We resolutely continue our fight against all terrorist groups with our police, gendarmerie and intelligence units with our strategy of destroying terrorism at its source," Yerlikaya said in a post on X.
The raids were carried out in major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya. The suspects are accused of being active within ISIL, financing the group and spreading propaganda via social media, Yerlikaya said.
Authorities seized organizational documents and digital materials during the operation.
Türkiye has faced a series of ISIL-linked attacks in recent years, including the one on a Catholic church in Istanbul a year ago.
Two masked men executed the attack during a Sunday service at the Italian church in the Sarıyer district, killing a 52-year-old man. Judges held the first trial of the accused early this month.
In 2023, Turkish intelligence forces killed then-ISIL leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria. He had been appointed as the group's chief in November 2022 after the death of its previous leader.