Turkish law enforcement authorities arrested 357 people in a large-scale operation conducted in 21 provinces, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Gerlikaya announced today.
“During simultaneous operations carried out this morning by our police forces in 21 provinces, we arrested 357 suspects linked to the Islamic State. (…) We never give the slightest chance to those who try to bring this country to its knees through terrorism,” the minister said in a post on X.
Three police officers were killed yesterday during an operation against IS in Yalova, in northwestern Turkey.
After the operation, in which six members of the jihadist organization, all Turkish nationals, were killed, clashes broke out between the police and IS members, which lasted for an hour.
Last Thursday, Istanbul’s prosecutor ordered the arrest of 137 suspected IS members “following information indicating that the IS terrorist organization was planning attacks during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.”
Turkey, which shares a 900km border with Syria, fears infiltration by the jihadist group, which remains active in its neighboring country.
Turkey has stepped up operations against suspected Islamic State members this year as the group regroups globally.
Nearly a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks against civilians in Turkey, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport that killed dozens of people.
Turkey has been a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Islamic State, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
The police carried out regular operations against the group in the following years and there were few attacks after the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
