Police nab 40 ISIL suspects in eight provinces

ANKARA

Turkish security forces have captured 40 suspects in a series of operations targeting ISIL across eight of the country's 81 provinces, authorities announced on March 24.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya revealed the details of the coordinated crackdown, dubbed "Bozdoğan-16," in a statement shared on his X account.

The operations, conducted under the guidance of chief public prosecutor's offices and anti-terrorism police, resulted in the arrest of 40 ISIL suspects in Adana, Afyonkarahisar, Ankara, Düzce, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, İzmir and Konya provinces.

Yerlikaya emphasized that since June 2023, a total of 1,316 operations have been carried out against ISIL, leading to the capture of 2,733 suspects. Of those captured, 692 have been arrested, while 529 have been placed under judicial control.

"I want our dear nation to know that we will not allow any of the terrorists to turn a blind eye. We have only one goal, and that is to fight continuously with your prayers and support until the last terrorist is neutralized," the minister wrote.

The operations come after the group's claim of responsibility for an attack on a Moscow concert hall that claimed over 130 lives.

Türkiye has faced a series of ISIL-linked attacks in recent years, including a 2017 nightclub shooting in Istanbul that left 39 people dead.

In the latest incident, two gunmen attacked a Catholic church in Istanbul's Sarıyer district, killing one person. The assailants, both foreign nationals, were identified as originating from Tajikistan and Russia.

Following the church attack, Turkish security forces conducted raids on more than 30 locations in Istanbul, detaining dozens of suspects believed to be linked to the incident, according to Yerlikaya.