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Turkish authorities continued their nationwide operations against suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Wednesday, arresting 125 people in simultaneous raids in 25 provinces.
Police last week arrested hundreds of IS suspects in raids across the country aimed at preventing possible attacks during Christmas and New Year festivities.
Members of a suspected Islamic State cell opened fire Monday on police carrying out such a raid in the northwestern province of Yalova. Six ISIS suspects and three police officers were killed in the clash, while eight other police officers and a night guard were injured when security forces stormed a house used as a hideout. Authorities said all the activists were Turkish citizens.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Wednesday’s raids were coordinated by police and gendarmerie forces and carried out in cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Yalova.
“Those who target our brotherhood, our unity and our solidarity; those who try to exploit our faith and attack our values will only face the power of our state and the unity of our nation,” Yerlikaya said in a social media post.
ISIS has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations on January 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.
WATCH | Filming in an Istanbul nightclub (from 2017):
CBC’s Il Köksal reports near the scene of a New Year’s party where a gunman shot dead at least 39 people
Turkey has carried out similar large-scale operations against suspected ISIS members in previous years, but the latest operation comes against the backdrop of an apparent global resurgence, marked by a recent ISIS-inspired attack in Australia and strikes against U.S. forces in neighboring Syria.
The U.S. military said Tuesday that nearly 25 ISIS members have been killed or captured in Syria this month following the ambush that left two American soldiers and an American civilian interpreter dead.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said in a statement on
Syrian security forces have also launched operations against IS in recent days, including two raids on the outskirts of Damascus, the Syrian capital. During the raids, Syrian officials said Taha al-Zoubi, identified as the leader of ISIS in the Damascus area, was captured and Mohammed Shahadeh, a senior ISIS commander in Syria, was killed.
