Turkish police capture key Daesh militant responsible for hideout houses

A high-ranking Daesh terrorist has been arrested in Istanbul in connection to the Reina nightclub attack. Yasser Mohammed Salem Radown, who reportedly served as a "kadı" in the Daesh terrorist organization, was taken into custody and interrogated by police before being taken to the Istanbul Justice Palace in Çağlayan where he was formally charged for "being affiliated with an armed terrorist group" and "crimes against the Republic of Turkey."

Radown's capture will hopefully shed further light on the Daesh terrorist network in Turkey. Shortly after Uzbek national Abdulkadir Masharipov was captured in Istanbul, it was learned that Daesh suspect Abdurrauf Sertin, known by the code name "Muaviye" among Daesh militants, was responsible for providing homes to foreign Daesh terrorists across Istanbul, allegedly providing housing to Reina nightclub attacker, Masharipov. The discovery led police forces to make 10 arrests, all of them foreign nationals, at one of those houses run by Radown in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul, where suspects were found without passport identification.

After Radown's arrest, police seized a notebook including telephone numbers, physical addresses and names. Reportedly, the information belongs to suspected Daesh militants in other sleeper cells. Known by the code name "Abu Jihad," Radown is said to have been in communication with other militants as well as militants from other terror groups in different regions.

The police also discovered a mobile phone that the suspect had attempted to hide in his anus, containing photos of various weaponry and indications that the suspect was engaged in multiple illegal activities with Daesh as an active militant who was ready to organize and implement a suicide bombing attack or an attack similar to the Jan. 1 attack at the Reina nightclub.

Abdulkadir Masharipov, the Daesh militant and Uzbek national who is accused of killing 39 people and wounding 65 others in the Reina attack, slaughtered guests at the posh nightclub as they celebrated the new year, fleeing the crime scene undetected amid chaos at the scene. Police launched an extensive manhunt which resulted in Masharipov's arrest 17 days later. Police have detained a number of Daesh militants and continue to investigate the Daesh organization in Turkey.