Seven ISIL suspects detained in Turkey’s Şanlıurfa
ŞANLIURFA - Anadolu Agency
Police on July 4 detained seven people, including five Syrian nationals, over their suspected links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.
The police seized digital materials at the addresses of the suspects.
Two of the suspects were arrested while the other five have been released on probation.
Earlier this week, security forces detained nine Iraqi nationals in the Black Sea province of Samsun in an investigation into ISIL.
Last month, one of the leading jihadist figures in Turkey, Halis Bayancuk, was convicted of establishing an armed organization and making terrorist propaganda by a court in the northwestern province of Sakarya.
Bayancuk, code-named Abu Hanzala, was sentenced to 12 years and six months jail time over charges of establishing an armed group.
Bayancuk denied the accusation of masterminding ISIL activities in Turkey.
More than 300 people have lost their lives in ISIL-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the group has targeted civilians in suicide bomb, rocket, and gun attacks.
The last major attack in Turkey attributed to ISIL was the New Year massacre by an Uzbek gunman at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul just minutes into 2017. The assault left 39 dead.
