Turkish police have captured a total of 216 suspected members of the Daesh terrorist group in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Monday.
Türkiye has been hit by several major attacks claimed by Daesh, including a 2017 nightclub shooting that killed dozens of people.
Security measures have been tightened across the country following an attack by PKK terrorists in Ankara last week that killed five and injured 22 others.
The fresh raids, codenamed “Gürz-23,” took place across 45 cities including Istanbul, Ankara, southern Antalya, central Eskişehir and in eastern Şanlıurfa provinces, Yerlikaya said on X.
The suspects took an active part in Daesh operations in the past and are facing an investigation for financing the terrorist group, Yerlikaya added.
The detention of 216 people this week follows other mass detentions, including a total of 115 last month announced last month, 283 announced in August and 147 in March.
Since the 2019 collapse of the self-proclaimed “caliphate,” some suspected Daesh members have settled in Türkiye, operating a so-called Khorasan Province (Daesh-K) network, which looks for “new methods” and recruits more foreign nationals for its activities after constant counterterrorism operations became a “challenge,” according to Turkish security sources.
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) thwarted the terrorist group's efforts for recruitment, obtaining funds and logistics support after its latest operation in the aftermath of a church shooting in Istanbul in January.
Turkish authorities said that since June 2023, more than 3,600 people with suspected ties to the terrorist group have been arrested.
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 as a terrorist group in 2013.
In December last year, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged links with Daesh, who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues, as well as the Iraqi Embassy.
Terrorists from Daesh and other groups, such as the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, rely on a network of members and supporters in Türkiye.
Turkish authorities have ordered the freezing of millions of lira worth of assets since 2013 to crack down on terrorism financiers in line with U.N. sanctions.
Türkiye has increasingly been working to cut off and prevent the financing of terrorism, a pillar of the fight against terrorism worldwide. In the past 11 years, it has frozen the assets of 1,918 individuals and organizations, according to official figures compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA).
Authorities found that of the 1,332 individuals and organizations targeted in Türkiye, 655 were linked to the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ), 275 were linked to the PKK, 259 to Daesh and al-Qaida, 11 to the Nusra Front and 132 to other terrorist organizations.
In December last year, Turkish intelligence captured a top Daesh terrorist in charge of the terrorist group’s finances in the Damascus region in an operation in Türkiye’s southern Mersin province.
Over $28,000, 14,950 euros, TL 31,800 and digital materials were confiscated in the operation targeting Hudhaifa al-Mouri, codenamed "Ayyoub," who was responsible for coordinating funds sent to Daesh members abroad.
