Turkish official media announced on Saturday, May 23, the arrest of ten Turkish nationals suspected of belonging to the Islamic State inside Syrian territory, during a joint security operation by Turkish and Syrian intelligence. Ankara said the operation followed close monitoring of the wanted suspects’ movements and activities.
According to Turkey’s official Anadolu Agency, the detainees were listed on Interpol’s red notice, while they are suspected of involvement in military, security, and media activities linked to the Islamic State, in addition to some of them being connected to attacks that took place in Turkey over past years.
Turkish security sources said the operation was carried out in coordination between Turkish and Syrian intelligence agencies, after monitoring and surveillance operations that lasted for a period of time before the arrests were made and the detainees were transferred to Turkey to complete investigations.
Damascus Has Not Officially Commented
As of the time this report was prepared, Syrian authorities had not issued any official comment on the joint operation or the details of the arrest of the suspects inside Syrian territory.
Syrian authorities also did not announce the locations where the arrests took place or the nature of security coordination between the two sides.
Joined the Organization Between 2014 and 2017
According to information reported by Turkish official media, all the detainees hold Turkish nationality and joined the Islamic State in Syria between 2014 and 2017. They participated in various activities within the organization’s ranks, including fighting, intelligence work, media propaganda, and logistical support.
Anadolu added that investigations showed several detainees were linked to attacks previously carried out inside Turkey, including the double suicide attack that targeted the central train station in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on October 10, 2015, killing 102 people and wounding more than 200 others.
The Ankara station bombing is considered one of the largest attacks Turkey has witnessed in its modern history. It took place during a gathering called by several civil society organizations and unions under the slogan “Labor, Peace, and Democracy.”
Accusations of Links to Ankara Station Bombing
Turkish investigations indicated that one of the detainees, Omer Deniz Dundar, was connected to the perpetrators of the Ankara station attack. He moved to Syria in 2014 to join the Islamic State, where he worked in various units and took part in armed clashes.
According to the Turkish account, Dundar also worked within what is known as the “al-Farouq Office,” which Ankara accuses of managing the organization’s activities inside Turkey and coordinating with its members.
Investigations also stated that Dundar’s fingerprints were found on explosive devices belonging to two suicide bombers who were arrested during security operations in Turkey in 2017, strengthening suspicions about his direct connection to several attacks.
Turkish authorities accused two other detainees of taking part in the planning or execution of attacks targeting Turkish soldiers deployed in areas of northern Syria, without revealing additional details about those operations or their timing.
“Al-Farouq Office” Appears in Investigations
Investigations showed that one detainee, Ali Bora, held the position of so-called “intelligence emir” responsible for the organization’s activities inside Turkey, after moving to Syria in 2014.
Turkish authorities said Bora took part in armed clashes within the organization’s ranks and worked in various units, in addition to his activity within the “al-Farouq Office,” which Ankara describes as one of the arms responsible for managing Islamic State operations inside Turkey.
Turkish authorities also accuse him of taking part in planning three operations that targeted the Turkish Armed Forces through the organization’s so-called “Turkey Province.”
In the same context, investigations said another member, named Kadir Gozukara, moved to Syria at the direction of Mustafa Dokumaci, whom Ankara describes as the leader of the “Dokumaci Group” linked to the Islamic State.
According to the investigations, Gozukara handled logistical and media tasks because of his physical disability, including securing the needs of members arriving in Syria and managing propaganda activities for the organization until 2021.
Members Worked in Fighting, Propaganda, and Administration
Investigations also revealed that detainee Hussein Peri joined the organization in 2014 and worked in its medical unit before being captured by the Women’s Protection Units in 2015. He was later released in a prisoner exchange deal and returned to his activity inside the organization until 2019, according to the Turkish account.
The investigations also said Abdullah Cobanoglu worked in combat zones inside Syria within groups adopting “Salafi takfiri” ideology before pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2020. He later took on tasks in the media unit affiliated with the “al-Farouq Office.”
The list of detainees included other names that Turkish authorities said took part in fighting or organizational and media activities affiliated with the group in Idlib (northwestern Syria) and other Syrian areas. They included Hakki Yuksek, Cekdar Yilmaz, Murat Ozdemir, Ishak Gunci, in addition to another member identified by the initials “K.D.”
According to the Turkish account, some of them continued their activity within small cells linked to the Islamic State after it lost areas under its control in Syria, while others worked in logistical support, administration, and media propaganda.
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