Turkish security forces on Tuesday detained 51 suspected members of the terror group Daesh in countrywide raids and launched an investigation to capture 19 others linked to the PKK.
Counterterrorism and intelligence units of the police caught 51 suspects actively working for Daesh in 17 provinces, including Istanbul, Antalya, Gaziantep and Afyonkarahisar, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said via X.
In the capital, Ankara, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued warrants for 19 suspects operating under the banner of the “Democratic Student Council” of the PKK’s so-called “youth formation" across the city.
Türkiye has ramped up operations against Daesh terrorists after the group attacked an Istanbul Church in late January, killing a civilian man during Sunday mass.
Daesh operates a so-called Khorasan Province (Daesh-K) network in Türkiye, which looks for new “methods” and recruits more foreign members for its activities after constant counterterrorism operations became a “challenge,” security sources say.
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 the church shooting.
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.
Daesh extremists have not previously targeted places of worship on Turkish soil, but they have carried out a string of attacks, including against a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead and a 2015 bombing attack in Ankara that killed 109.
Turkish airstrikes also target hideouts of Daesh and PKK in northern Iraq and Syria near the Turkish border.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, Britain and the European Union – is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terror. The PKK carried out attacks, killing more than a dozen Turkish soldiers in the past two months in northern Iraq, a high toll that only increased Turkish operations in the region.
Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
