Security forces capture 14 Daesh suspects, eliminate 4 PKK terrorists

TURKISH security forces have nabbed 14 Daesh suspects and eliminated four PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, authorities said Tuesday, ahead of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, also known as Ramadan Bayram.

Turkish police, intelligence units and the counterterrorism department captured 14 people with links to the Daesh terrorist organization in raids code-named “Bozdoğan-22,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on Tuesday.

Yerlikaya said five suspects were captured in central Eskişehir, six in northwestern Yalova, two in southeastern Gaziantep and another in northern Samsun provinces during the operations.

Türkiye has ramped up operations against Daesh since the terrorist group attacked an Italian church in Istanbul in late January, killing one man during Sunday Mass.

Daesh operates a so-called Khorasan Province (Daesh-K) network in Türkiye, which looks for new “methods” and recruits more foreign members for its activities after constant counterterrorism operations became a “challenge,” security sources say.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) thwarted the terrorist group’s efforts for recruitment, obtaining funds and logistics support after its latest operation in the aftermath of the church shooting.

Daesh remains the second biggest threat of terrorism for Türkiye, which faces security risks from multiple terrorist groups and was one of the first countries to declare it as a terrorist group in 2013.

In December last year, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged links with Daesh, who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues, as well as the Iraqi Embassy.

Terrorists from Daesh and other groups, such as the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, rely on a network of members and supporters in Türkiye. In response, Ankara has been conducting pinpoint operations and freezing assets to eliminate the terrorist groups at their roots. Türkiye deported 9,000 foreign terrorist fighters, mainly from Daesh, from 102 different nationalities, of which 1,168 are from the U.S. or European Union member countries, since 2011.

Turkish airstrikes also target hideouts of Daesh, as well as PKK, in northern Iraq and Syria near the Turkish border.

Similarly, Turkish security forces eliminated four more PKK members in northern Iraq’s Metina region, where 21 Turkish soldiers were killed in two separate attacks since December.