Turkish Interior Minister said on Sunday that security forces, working with Syrian authorities, have captured Daesh members linked to the killing of a Turkish minibus driver in a cross-border operation.
Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on his social media that 65-year-old Binali Aslan, who had been reported missing by his family on Sept. 21, was found buried in a forested area in Türkiye’s Tarsus district of southern Mersin province. Officials said Aslan’s vehicle had been rented and then seized by a 14-member family associated with the Daesh terrorist group. After the murder, the family crossed into Syria.
Yerlikaya explained that intelligence gathered by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the police intelligence department and the counterterrorism unit determined the suspects were hiding in a residence in Syria’s Idlib-Atmeh region.
"In the operation carried out in coordination with the Syrian Internal Security Service at the identified address, suspects responded with gunfire to calls to surrender, leading to an armed clash. As a result, eight suspects were killed, two were wounded and four were captured alive. The suspects apprehended in Syria have been extradited to our country.’’ Yerlikaya stated.
The minister also noted that the police discovered the group had stayed at residences in Ankara belonging to two individuals identified as M.A. and N.S. before escaping. Both were taken into custody and later arrested by court order.
Praising the efforts of MIT, the police intelligence unit, the counterterrorism department, the gendarmerie and Syrian security forces, Yerlikaya sent condolences to Aslan’s family.
The case has drawn attention in Türkiye for its links to violent extremism and cross-border operations, underscoring Ankara’s ongoing cooperation with Syrian forces against Daesh.
Recently, in the nationwide operations carried out against Daesh, hundreds of suspects were detained and sent to prison.
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.
In December 2023, 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.
With security and counterterrorism at the forefront, Ankara views its cooperation with Damascus as central to ensuring a stable, sovereign and territorially unified Syria.
On the other hand, Daesh is not only a regional but also a global threat to peace and security, as the terrorists killed 71 people in an overnight attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past few days.