Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Sunday the arrest of 33 suspects alleged to be connected to the Islamic State (IS) on charges of “preparing and seeking action before the upcoming local elections,” of having provided “personnel to conflict zone” and “financial aid to the organization within the scope of financing terrorism,” ahead of the March 31 local elections.
Yerlikaya said the operations carried out by the police uncovered multiple weapons, including unlicensed guns and rifles, large amounts of foreign currency, several living materials and several banned publications and organizational documents.
This is not the first time the country has detained people alleged to be connected to IS. Turkish authorities arrested 32 people in December for allegedly conspiring to attack synagogues, churches and the Iranian embassy.
Türkiye has intensified anti-terrorist operations in the past few years since IS claimed responsibility for several attacks in the country in 2015, including the Ankara Bombings, which killed more than 100 people. The government classified IS as a terrorist group in 2013 and has reiterated its objective to neutralize terrorism. Yerlikaya previously stated that the country organizes anti-terrorism operations “365 days a year, 4 seasons, 12 months, day and night.” Governmental News Agency Anadolu published on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday that Türkiye and the US are going to work on strengthening bilateral counter-terrorism efforts to “increase cooperation against terrorism that threatens both countries’ national security.”
