Over 100 ISIL suspects caught in nationwide raids

ANKARA

Turkish security forces have detained 105 suspected ISIL members in coordinated operations across 23 of the country’s 81 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on April 11.

The raids conducted by police and gendarmerie units between March 19 and March 27 targeted individuals believed to be involved in terrorist activities, Yerlikaya said.

The operations spanned major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

"Day and night, 365 days a year, our operations against terrorist organizations continue relentlessly to ensure peace and stability across our country," Yerlikaya said on X.

Authorities seized unspecified quantities of weapons, documents and digital materials during the raids, according to the post.

Türkiye has faced a series of ISIL-linked attacks in recent years, including 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.

In 2023, Turkish intelligence forces killed then-ISIL leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria.