By Faruk Zorlu
Turkish security forces have arrested 48 terrorists as part of anti-terror operations targeting the Deash/ISIS terror group and attackers of Istanbul’s Santa Maria Church, the country's interior minister said on Saturday.
"In the operations carried out against the Deash/ISIS terrorist organization, 48 suspects were captured, especially those connected to the perpetrators of the Jan. 28 attack on Istanbul’s Santa Maria Church, in which one person was killed and those in contact with the conflict zones," Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X.
The operations, Bozdogan-21, were carried out by the Istanbul and Ankara police departments in coordination with the General Directorate of Security Intelligence and Counterterrorism Department.
During the operations, 30 suspects believed to be involved in the Santa Maria Church attack were apprehended by the counterterrorism team from the Istanbul Police Department, while 18 others connected to Deash/ISIS were arrested by the Ankara Police Department.
The Jan. 28 armed assault on the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul's Sariyer district was claimed by the Daesh/ISIS terror group. The attack resulted in the loss of 52-year-old Tuncer Cihan.