Five foreign ISIL suspects detained in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Five Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) suspects of foreign nationality were detained on Aug. 7 in Istanbul, in an operation conducted jointly by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and the Istanbul Police Department’s counterterrorism bureau. 

The suspects are believed to have come to Istanbul to organize an attack, according to officials.

The police conducted the operation at the suspects’ address in Istanbul’s Başakşehir district, where they also seized three guns, one muffler, and various digital data and organizational documents. 

The suspects were then taken to the police headquarters on Vatan Avenue, where their testimonies were taken. 

Turkey has in recent years been hit by a series of deadly attacks carried out by ISIL and has stepped up anti-terrorism operations across the country.

Of its attacks, the Ankara bombing was the deadliest carried out by the group, with suicide bombers targeting NGOs and supporters of left-wing parties holding a peace rally outside the capital’s main train station, weeks ahead of the Nov. 1, 2015 general election.