Police detain ISIL militant preparing attack on cemevi in Gaziantep

GAZIANTEP – Dogan News Agency

Police in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Sept. 17 took extensive measures after detaining a suspected Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant who possessed pictures of a cemevi, a house of worship used by adherents of the Alevi sect, and was confirmed to be preparing a terror attack.  
 
Interrogating the suspect after his detention, police confirmed a terror attack plot targeting the cemevi in the Düztepe neighborhood of Gaziantep and initiated wide measures around the house of worship, suspecting the attack still could be carried by militants in contact with the detainee. 

Armored vehicles and special operation teams were dispatched to the area by the police. Shops located on the street near the cemevi were barred from opening as part of the security measures. 

Meanwhile, Gaziantep Mayor Ali Yerlikaya, along with Police Chief Erhan Gülveren, visited Alevi Cultural Association head Yılmaz Demirdelen and association members whose offices were located inside the cemevi. Demirdelen said their interpretation was that they were facing a serious threat, as police called them the night before and took wide measures.   

Gaziantep, one of the Turkish cities hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees, was last hit by an ISIL suicide bomb attack on Aug. 20 which targeted a street wedding and claimed 56 lives, most of whom were children.