An indictment on members of the terrorist group Daesh and their associates captured alive revealed that the group attempted to kill the provincial chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Yalova.
Three police officers were killed as they raided a house in Yalova in northwestern Türkiye on Dec. 29, 2025, where Daesh members were hiding. Six Daesh members were killed in the shootout.
The indictment on the incident says six men killed in the shootout were linked to other Daesh suspects who plotted to kill AK Party Yalova official Umut Güçlü. Security forces have arrested 66 people in operations against Daesh after the deadly shootout. The indictment says four among six killed Daesh terrorists were siblings and they also planned to kill their father, whom they declared an “infidel.”
According to the indictment, the suspects were linked to a Daesh cell that used the disguise of a local magazine for legitimacy while planning terror attacks. It says Daesh members held meetings for plans on the magazine and secretly discussed choosing targets and “how to prepare for a war,” according to the prosecutors. The indictment says an investigation of cellphones in possession of three suspects led to the discovery of an exchange of messages through an encrypted messaging app. In the messages were blueprints of a house belonging to Umut Güçlü’s father, as well as its photographs and a discussion on how to obtain a gun to assassinate Güçlü.
Daesh remains the second biggest threat of terrorism for Türkiye, which faces security risks from multiple terrorist groups and was one of the first countries to declare it a terrorist group in 2013.
Earlier this month, Turkish security forces carried out operations simultaneously across nine provinces, identifying the suspects who allegedly provided financial support to the militant group, including some believed to be affiliated members.
Searches conducted at multiple locations led to the seizure of assets valued at approximately TL 1.82 million ($42,000), along with a hunting rifle, digital materials and documents, officials said.
Turkish authorities have ordered the freezing of millions of lira worth of assets since 2013 to crack down on terrorism financiers in line with United Nations sanctions.
