Türkiye arrests 147 people with suspected ties to IS

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Turkish Interior Minister Yerlikaya (here in October 2023): Arrests in 30 provinces

Photo: Ali Unal/dpa

The security authorities in Turkey are apparently intensifying their action against suspected contacts of the terrorist militia “Islamic State”. As Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on the online platform X, 147 suspects were arrested in raids in 30 provinces of the country.

According to official information, 40 suspected IS supporters were arrested in raids on Sunday. The Turkish authorities have been taking action against suspected Islamists for months. According to the Interior Ministry, more than 2,900 suspects have been arrested for suspected IS connections since June 1, 2023, and arrest warrants have been issued against almost 700.

There have been several deadly Islamist terrorist attacks in Turkey in the past. In January, IS claimed responsibility for an attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul that resulted in one fatality.

The global threat posed by IS and its various regional offshoots has come into focus again with the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow, which left more than 130 dead. The Central Asian IS offshoot “Islamic State Khorasan Province”, abbreviated as ISPK, claimed responsibility for the crime. A corresponding letter is considered credible by experts.

Security precautions have recently been increased in several European countries due to the risk of an Islamist terrorist attack. The background to the arrests in Turkey could also be that local elections are taking place in Turkey on Sunday.

Two suspects in the Moscow attack apparently entered the country via Türkiye

As the dpa news agency reports, citing Turkish security circles, two of the suspected Moscow attackers had been in Turkey before their stay in the Russian capital. It was said that they traveled together from Istanbul to Moscow on March 2nd. They were able to move freely because there was no arrest warrant. The two only stayed in the country for a short time, so it is not assumed that they became radicalized in Turkey.

One of the suspected attackers entered Turkey on February 20th, the other suspect on January 5th, it said. They both stayed in hotels in Istanbul at different times and returned to Moscow on the same flight on March 2nd.

The two men, like two other suspects, are now in custody in Russia. Photos taken on Sunday showed injuries on their bodies that indicate torture by Russian security forces.

fek/dpa/Reuters