Turkey says it detained dozens of foreign ISIS suspects, including 9 Iraqis

Among those arrested were nine Iraqi nationals for “their terror activities in Iraq and Syria.”

Kurdistan 24 2019/12/30 09:58

middle east Iraq ISIS Turkey Islamic State Syria

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Authorities in Turkey said on Monday that it had apprehended 31 foreign suspects with alleged membership to the so-called Islamic State in central and eastern parts of the country.

Among those arrested were nine Iraqi nationals in central Kayseri province for “their terror activities in Iraq and Syria,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

In a separate operation in the country’s eastern Batman province, 22 people were detained, “including the terror group’s head of the city.”

Police seized weapons, ammunition, digital materials, and other documents during the sweeps, Anadolu said.

Last week, Turkish police arrested three other people with alleged ties to the Islamic State who were reportedly trying to cross into the country’s eastern border, security sources said.

A week prior, authorities in Turkey arrested 13 individuals suspected to be members of the Islamic State who were allegedly planning a New Year’s attack.

Meanwhile, Ankara has repatriated over 110 foreign fighters in its custody, especially those with membership in the Islamic State.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has warned that Ankara would return foreign Islamic State detainees to their native countries, even if their citizenship had been revoked.