Turkey detains top Islamic State commander

T u r k i s h p o l i c e h a v e d e t a i n e d a n a l l e g e d t o p commander of the Islamic State group in Turkey, as well as 11 suspected collaborators.

Interior minister Suleyman S oylu identified the suspect as Mahmut Ozden and described him as the “so-called emir” of the militant group in Turkey.

P o l i c e s e i z e d t h e s u s - pect’s computer and other “digital material”, which r e ve a l e d t h e g r o u p to o k orders from “Iraq or Syri a” a n d p l a n n e d t o k i d - n a p Tu r k i s h p o l i t i c i a n s and to take them to Syria. The group also planned to attack businesses, the minister said.

Mr S oylu said information obtained from an IS militant who was detained in a raid in Ist anbul last month while rep or tedly planning to conduct a “sensational” attack in the city, led to Ozden’s arrest.