Turkish police detained 115 suspects in coordinated counter-terrorism raids linked to a Daesh plot targeting Christmas and New Year events, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.
In a statement shared on X, the Office said operations were launched following intelligence that terrorists were planning to make calls for action and carry out attacks “targeting our country within the scope of the upcoming Christmas and New Year events.” It added that the planned attacks would have targeted particularly non-Muslim individuals.
Simultaneous arrest, detention and search and seizure operations were carried out at “124 different addresses” across Istanbul against “137 suspects” believed to be in contact with individuals in conflict zones “within the scope of terrorist organisation activities,” according to the statement.
Prosecutors said some of the suspects were subject to arrest warrants “at the national and international level for terror crimes”, adding that police seized “handguns, ammunition and numerous organisational documents” during the raids.
“Of the suspects, 115 have been caught,” the statement said, adding that operations were continuing to locate those still at large.
The raids come amid an intensified counter-terrorism campaign against Daesh networks across Türkiye. On Monday, Turkish intelligence said it had captured a Turkish national holding a senior role within the terror group in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and brought him to Türkiye.
Security sources said the Daesh member was tasked with carrying out suicide attacks targeting civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Türkiye and Europe.
Daesh, also known as ISIS, was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence particularly in the country's vast desert. The terror group also has regional branches active in other parts of the world, such as Daesh-K in Central and South Asia.
On December 13, Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry condemned a terror attack by the group that targeted Syrian and US forces in Syria, saying Ankara would continue to support efforts to strengthen stability and security and to combat terrorism.
