This is why there are fears of ISIS carrying out attacks inside Turkey

With the announcement by the Turkish authorities of the arrest of 15 ISIS supporters and the referral to the judiciary in Istanbul, Turkey’s second largest city, the issue of security threats facing Turkey has come back to the fore, especially after the police arrest of some of the ISIS members came just days after the closure of several European consulates in Istanbul, which coincided with warnings from the US embassy in Ankara to its citizens of possible attacks in Istanbul.

Although the 15 detainees intended to carry out attacks against Western consulates, in particularly Swedish and Dutch, and places of religious worship for Christians and Jews, were unable to do so because they were arrested before implementing their plans, which were in response to the Koran burning incident that took place last month in Stockholm.

A security expert said: “Fears of ISIS launching attacks inside Turkey have not been allayed, especially after some of its leaders fled in Turkish territory after eliminating ISIS in the geographical areas it controlled in Syria and Iraq”, adding that “many of the leaders of the organization and its members have found in past in Turkish territory a safe haven for them, especially since it was the main passage to enter in Syria and Iraq.


Mujahid al-Sumaida’i, a researcher at the European Center for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, told Al Arabiya.net: “Many of the leaders of the organization have fled in Turkey and have returned to their country, but others have settled in Turkey without being detected by the authorities or intelligence, and are trying to return to reorganize their ranks.

He revealed that “the organization has been crippled in this moment due to the killing of most of its leaders, and it no longer has the military capacity to control the territory, but it can launch individual terrorist attacks which are difficult for the security services to cease, given that its perpetrators belong intellectually to the organization without being recruited into the ranks of the organization”.

According to the security expert, Turkey has the “right” to express its security concerns over the attacks by the organization “ISIS”, stressing that the attacks by the organization took place in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections months, justifying that the attacks that accompanied the 2015 elections coincided with the organization’s control over a third of thearea of Iraq and other large areas from Syria.

He also said: “ISIS at that time had money, weapons, personnel and everything needed to carry out attacks not only in Turkey but also in Europe, but today it does not have these means and Turkish intelligence is pursuing its members, and therefore the situation has changed and it will not be in capable of launching major attacks.” Especially during election time due to the heavy security presence.

Different media Turks, including Yeni Shafak, had published videos and photos of the raids and kidnappings.

A few days ago, the Anti-Terrorism Forces of the Istanbul Security Directorate arrested an ISIS terrorist who intended to target tourists and citizens in one of the vital areas of the city.

According to security sources, counter-terrorism teams have launched an operation against ISIS in the state, and have managed to identify a suspect who has filmed and published videos promoting the terrorist organization and threatening to carry out operations in vital areas crowded with tourists and citizens.

Turkish state agency Anadolu cited sources that counter-terrorism forces raided the suspect’s house, called “MA”, where they arrested him, and confiscated digital devices, some flags of the organization and tools used in their manufacture , such as fabrics and dyes, as well as sharp tools that he intended to use during a terrorist operation.

He added that upon examining the digital materials, the teams found a video showing the accused receiving a message of allegiance to ISIS from another suspect. Security teams also found information indicating that he intended to carry out an operation in one of the vital areas of Istanbul.

The agency specified that the Turkish authorities arrested two suspects belonging to the “ISIS” organization in the state of Kayseri, in the center of the country. He said gendarmerie teams raided at the same time in two places in where the suspects were hiding and managed to arrest them, noting that they are Syrian and involved in armed activities for the organization in their country.

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