Turkish security forces detained a suicide bomber who had been planning to carry out an attack on behalf of the Daesh terrorist group on Monday.
The terrorist was detained in the southeastern Şanlıurfa province, the Interior Ministry said.
According to a statement by the ministry, digital material and organizational documents were found in a flash drive that was seized as part of an investigation carried out by the chief prosecutor's office in the southern province of Kilis.
After the tip-off, Turkish counter-terrorism units carried out an operation in Şanlıurfa and arrested Bashar al-Mizhen, codenamed Abi Enes Al Kathani.
Digital materials were also seized during a police raid at the address of the suspect.
The ministry further noted that the terrorist has made contact with the so-called senior leaders of the Daesh terror group in Damascus.
He also confessed he was planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack.
According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency (AA) from security sources who wished to remain anonymous, Mizhen joined Daesh in 2015 and received special arms training from the terror group.
Mizhen is the 10th terrorist caught in Turkey this year as security forces thwarted attempts to carry out bombings. In January, Turkey arrested a member of Daesh’s execution team in northern Samsun province.
In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group. The country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.
In response, Turkey launched counterterrorism operations within and abroad to prevent further attacks. Last year, Ankara arrested a Daesh terrorist identified as the right-hand of former terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Turkish security forces also foiled the secret office structure of the Daesh terrorist group in the country, which was used to transfer funds to the families of martyrs and captives.
