Police detain four ISIL suspects, foil terrorist attack in Turkey’s Gaziantep

GAZİANTEP

AA photo

Police in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Feb. 9 detained four Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) suspects who were allegedly preparing to stage major attacks in the country, the Gaziantep Governor’s Office has stated.

The Governor’s Office said in a written statement that one of the detained suspects had been sought on charges of “being a member of a terror organization,” having been instructed by high-ranking militants active in conflict zones in Syria to stage “sensational attacks” around Turkey. 

It also added that around 150 kilograms of 24 suicide bomber belts strengthened with metal, 14 kilograms of TNT, two Kalashnikovs, 19 mobile phone bomb key systems, 21 digital clock time-set bomb key systems, 20 suicide bomb toggle switch key systems, one pistol, 52 7.62-milimeter diameter cartridges, 100 electric capsules, 300 normal capsules, 30 nine millimeter diameter full cartridges, two Kalashnikov clips, two pistol clips, one mobile phone, a SIM card and a memory card were also seized during searches conducted in line with the suspects’ testimonies.

The suspects were later transferred to the courthouse following proceedings at the police headquarters, the Governor’s Office stated.

Meanwhile, new details have emerged regarding ISIL’s Suruç attack that killed 34 people on July 20, 2015. According to the indictment on the attack on the Amara Culture Center, the suicide bomber Abdurrahman Alagöz’s activities on the day of the attack can be seen from the security cameras. 

Alagöz can be seen in the footage walking towards the center of the district at 9:01 a.m. He passes in front of the police headquarters at 9:28 a.m. and continues to walk. He then enters an internet cafe called “Hele Bi Gel” at 10:06 a.m. and leaves it 11 minutes later. 

His next destination is another internet cafe called “Cadde,” where he stayed for nearly an hour. After reading the news on the situation in Kobane and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Alagöz is seen leaving “Cadde” at 11:29 a.m. and he starts walking toward the Amara Culture Center at 11:35 a.m.

Alagöz is seen in front of the culture center at 11:45 a.m., before moving to Altınova Mosque at 11:47 a.m. After leaving the mosque at 11:53, Alagöz entered the culture center’s garden at 12 p.m. In the footage he is seen walking toward the area where a press statement is being made. He chose a spot where cameras cannot see him and blew himself up at 12:02 p.m.

Alagöz targeted the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF), which was attempting to send a group of volunteers over to the Syrian border town of Kobane, which had been under attack by ISIL in the previous months, to bring humanitarian aid and construct a library.