A senior operative of Daesh terrorist group from Syria was arrested on Monday in Turkey’s west, according to security sources. The arrest came a
A senior operative of Daesh terrorist group from Syria was arrested on Monday in Turkey’s west, according to security sources.
The arrest came after an operation against terrorist group Daesh, also known as ISIS, in Denizli province, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Turkey announces arrest of Daesh leader Baghdadi’s sister
Turkey on Tuesday announced the arrest of slain former Daesh ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s sister.”The arrest of al-Baghdadi’s sister is yet another example of the success of our counter-terrorism operations,” said Fahrettin Altun, Turkey’s communications director, on Twitter.”Turkey’s fight against terror regardless of its ideology or origin continues unabated,” he added.Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi led Daesh as it snapped up large swaths of Iraq and Syria.U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that al-Baghdadi had been killed in a late-night raid in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province. Altun underlined Turkey’s unquestionable determination to bring justice to those who seek to terrorize the region.”Much dark propaganda against Turkey has been circulating to raise doubts about our resolve against Daesh. We have been leading in the fight against terrorism in all its forms,” he stressed.Altun also said some circles in the U.S. are “working hard” to make Washington’s partnership with Ankara “unworkable”.”We hope a cool-headed approach that understands the true value of alliances will prevail in the end,” he added.Amid expectations of a visit this month by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the U.S., Altun underlined that the leaders of the two countries would meet whenever they “see fit”.He added: “The decision for the November visit ultimately lies with our President.”Underlining that communication between Erdogan and Trump has been “candid”, Altun said: “They [Erdogan and Trump] will continue to discuss issues of mutual interest with the same level of openness in the future as they deem appropriate. Our strong counter-terrorism cooperation with like-minded partners can never be questioned.”
Hungary hails defense industry cooperating with Turkey
Hungary’s foreign minister on Monday praised the cooperation between his country and Turkey in the defense industry, underling that Turkey is a NATO member.Peter Szijjarto was speaking after his meeting with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Budapest, capital of Hungary.Responding to a question about cooperation between Hungary and Turkey, Szijjarto said: “Please do not forget when you are talking about Turkey that it is a NATO member.”“So, naturally we cooperate with Turkey in the defense industry. Of course, we will continue this cooperation in the future,” he added.He also spoke about Hungary’s attitude towards Turkey’s anti-terror Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria. “Neither Germany nor any other country has any influence on our stance on Turkish activities in Syria. At this point, we stand for the interests of the Hungarians,” Szijjarto said.On Oct. 11, Gergely Gulyas, the Hungarian prime minister’s chief of staff had said: “Turkey’s newly launched cross-border operation in northern Syria should be supported, provided that the country aims to facilitate the safe return of the nearly 4 million Syrian refugees it is hosting.”Szijjarto also stressed that Hungary will not accept any agreement on the distribution of migrants among the members of the European Union (EU).Germany’s foreign minister reminded his country’s suspension of arms export to Turkey and said: “Turkey is an important NATO member and should remain as it is, but we also expect from Turkey to act as a NATO member.”Maas also responded to a question on a proposal on taking back German citizens, who are the members of terrorist group Daesh, also known as ISIS. “We do not have definite information from Turkey about the deportation of captured Daesh members,” he said.“First of all, it should be determined which country they are citizens of. If these people are German citizens and they want to come back, then they must be admitted back and they should face trial,” he said.
The suspect, a Syrian national, had entered Turkey through illegal means and was plotting a terror attack in the province.
The suspect, known only by the initials D.E.H., was so-called intelligence officer of Daesh in Syria’s al-Hasakah. One more foreign national was also arrested in the operation.
Since recognizing Daesh as a terrorist group in 2013, Turkey has been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists numerous times, including 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings, and four armed attacks which killed 315 people and injured hundreds.
In response to these attacks, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad, neutralizing 3,500 Daesh terrorists and arresting 5,500.
Turkey, SNA arrest 287 Daesh terror suspects
A total of 287 Daesh terror suspects have been arrested in northern Syria so far by the Turkish military and the Syrian National Army, Turkey’s deputy interior minister said on Monday.Ismail Catakli, also Interior Ministry’s spokesman, said the terror suspects, including 45 Turks and 242 foreign nationals, were arrested in 1,107 counter-terror operations.Catakli added that Turkey has brought back its citizens, while others are kept in secured places in Syria.Stressing that no other country put such an effort in fight against Daesh as Turkey, Catakli said a total of 2,553 suspects were arrested over their suspected links to Daesh and 784 of them were remanded in custody since the beginning of 2019.Since recognizing Daesh as a terrorist group in 2013, Turkey has been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists numerous times, including in 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings, and four armed attacks which killed 315 people and injured hundreds.In response to these attacks, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad, neutralizing 3,500 Daesh terrorists and arresting 5,500.Also, 3,759 suspects were arrested over their suspected links to different terrorist organizations and 575 of them were remanded in custody.“We have prohibited the entry of 76,818 people who might be foreign terrorist fighters, and deported 7,643 terrorist fighters,” Catakli added.He added that 175 terrorists were “neutralized” during counter-terrorism operations across the country in November.Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.The neutralized terrorists included 17 senior operatives of the terror group. Three of them were in the red category of the Interior Ministry’s wanted list, another three in the orange and 11 in the gray category.The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.He said a total of 9,885 counter-terror operations were carried out in rural areas and 1,857 in cities.Stressing that 13,154 anti-drug operations were carried out in November, he said nearly 18,080 people were arrested and 1,196 were remanded in custody in the same month.The anti-drug operation team seized nearly 12.9 tons of marijuana, over a ton of skunk weed and 981 kilograms (2,162 pounds) of heroin.Some 2,993 suspects were arrested over their alleged links to drug trafficking and 29 of them were remanded in custody within the scope of 1,976 anti-smuggling operations, he added.He also said that the ministry initiated a legal procedure against 2,712 people as part of its fight against cybercrimes.*Writing by Gozde Bayar.
Turkey slams double standard in US terror report
No mentioning of YPG/PYD and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) as terrorist organizations in the recently released U.S. terrorism report is one of the most obvious examples of the double standard approach, Turkey’s Presidential Cabinet said on Monday.The Cabinet criticized “Country Reports on Terrorism 2018″ — issued by the U.S. State Department on Friday.Alongside of its border security, Turkey proceed this fight (against terrorists) for peace and future of all its friendly countries, especially NATO alliance, said in the statement released after the Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”However, the YPG, PKK terror group’s Syrian offshoot, and PYD, its political wing, as well as FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, are not mentioned in the Terrorism Report 2018, released by the U.S. State Department. This attitude is one of the most obvious examples of a double-standard approach on terrorist organizations,” the statement said.”[…] Turkey resolutely continues to fight all terrorist organizations especially PYD and FETÖ, as well as PKK and Daesh [ISIS],” it added.The statement stressed that there are few countries in the world like Turkey which became victims of terror attacks and they have succeeded by effectively combatting terrorist organizations.“In recent years, the humanitarian crisis in Syria has led to the establishment of another terror group YPG, PKK’s Syrian offshoot, as well as Daesh in our region,” it added.Referring to Operation Euphrates Shield, Operation Olive Branch and Operation Peace Spring, Turkey’s anti-terror operations in northern Syria, the statement said Turkey gave priority to security of civilians while simultaneously fight terror groups.”By creating de-escalation zone in Idlib with Russia, we prevented a huge tragedy involving 3 million people as well as we restricted movements of terror groups once again,” the statement said.In 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG/PYD is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.