Police arrest 9 Daesh/ISIS terror suspects in Turkish capital

By Cankut Tasdan and Gokhan Duzyol

ANKARA/AYDIN, Türkiye (AA) - Turkish police have arrested nine foreign nationals affiliated with the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization during anti-terror operations in the capital Ankara, security sources said on Wednesday.

Police teams conducted simultaneous anti-terror operations to arrest 10 suspects over their links to the terrorist group, according to the sources who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The operation was initiated over the suspicion that the suspects had been in conflict zones and carried out activities for the terrorist organization Daesh/ISIS in the past years, the sources said.

The arrests were made in the operations carried out across Ankara, and the remaining suspect is sought by the police, the sources added.

Separately, police arrested another Daesh/ISIS suspect in the Didim District of Türkiye’s Aegean province of Aydin.

The suspect only identified with the initials A.P. was released on probation.

In 2013, Türkiye became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist organization.

The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks.

In response, Türkiye launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.