Nine ISIL recruiters, supporters detained in Konya

KONYA – Doğan News Agency

Cihan Photo

Nine suspects have been detained for allegedly recruiting militants and providing logistical assistance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in a police operation in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.

Konya Police Department Counterterrorism officers raided multiple places and detained nine suspects on July 13 for recruiting militants and providing logistical support to ISIL following a three-month long technical and physical surveillance of the suspects.

Several shotguns of different sizes and bombshells were seized in police searches of the suspects’ homes. The suspects’ interrogations are currently ongoing.

Over the last weekend, Turkish security forces detained 45 foreign nationals in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, who were seeking to cross into Syria to join ISIL.

On July 12 alone, 25 foreign nationals, mostly citizens of Tajikistan, were detained at the Gaziantep bus station in a series of police operations. 

The operations were launched on July 10 by the Gaziantep Police Department Counterterrorism Unit forces on previously gathered intelligence that a large number of foreign nationals were to head to Gaziantep on passenger buses to cross into Syria.