By Faruk Zorlu
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish security forces have arrested 33 people in the country's northwestern province of Sakarya for suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Sunday.
The 33 suspects were detained in simultaneous operations in Sakarya against the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization, Yerlikaya said in a statement posted on X.
The suspects were found to have been involved in "preparing for actions before local elections, seeking recruits for conflict zones, providing financial support to the organization as part of financing terrorism, and engaging in activities such as construction of illegal mosque and madrasa," he said.
During the operations, four unlicensed pistols, two unlicensed rifles, a significant amount of foreign currency, various life materials, and numerous banned publications and documents were seized, he said.
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.