The Turkish authorities on Tuesday introduced the arrest of Mahmut Ozden, described as a prime Islamic State determine in Turkey, and mentioned that they had recovered proof that the group was planning an assault within the nation.
Suleyman Soylu, Turkey’s inside minister, introduced Mr. Ozden’s arrest in a post on Twitter and mentioned he had been “caught with vital plans.” Mr. Soylu thanked the police for his or her work in apprehending him.
Mr. Ozden is well-known to the Turkish authorities and has been arrested greater than as soon as earlier than, together with detentions in 2018 and 2019.
Mr. Soylu, talking later in a televised handle from Giresun — an area recently hit by deadly floods — said that Mr. Ozden had “continuously” received orders from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. He was also leading groups of 10 to 12 people to formulate plans to carry out attacks against Turkey, according to information obtained from his computer and other digital material, Mr. Soylu said.
According to the state-run news agency, Anadolu, the security forces detained Mr. Ozden in Adana, a city in southern Turkey, after they had arrested another member of the Islamic State group who was also preparing an attack in Istanbul. Three others were also detained in the same operation over links to the militant group, the news agency said.
Mr. Soylu also said Mr. Ozden had been involved in a plot to abduct prominent figures and take them to Syria, and also intended to carry out an operation that “would hurt Turkey economically.’’
“Very clear orders and action plans were seized about the abduction of politicians and statesmen to Syria,” he said, before noting the investigation into Mr. Ozden is ongoing.
The authorities in Turkey have conducted periodic raids aimed at members of the Islamic State, which has carried out a number of attacks in the country.
In January 2017, the group claimed responsibility for a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people. An attack on the international airport in Istanbul in June 2016 that officials attributed to the Islamic State left 41 people dead. A bombing carried out by the group in the city in March 2016 killed 12 people.
Unlike many of its allies, Turkey never criminalized travel to areas in Syria and Iraq that the Islamic State held at the height of its power. Critics say Turkey has done little to monitor the thousands of fighters who have returned to Turkish soil since much of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate was lost.
Analysts say this new arrest does not necessarily indicate an increased risk of attack from the Islamic State in Turkey, or a fundamental shift in Turkey’s approach to combating the extremists. In a report issued last month, the United States’ military’s mission in Iraq and Syria referred to as Turkey a “main facilitation hub” for Islamic State militants, funding and weapons.
However the report famous that Turkish safety forces had elevated operations towards the group in current months and had improved safety alongside the border with Syria and Iraq.
Fadi Hakura, the supervisor of the Turkey venture at Chatham Home, a London-based analysis group, mentioned the arrest of Mr. Ozden like different Islamic State members earlier than him doesn’t signify a main adjustment in Turkey’s method. Mr. Hakura mentioned the underlying precedence for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey is the elimination of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The dedication to that aim has included cooperating carefully with militant teams within the north of Syria, together with extremist Islamist teams linked to the Islamic State.
“I believe these arrests are supposed to point out their dedication to struggle militants with an anti- Western orientation,” Mr. Hakura mentioned. “However basically, these arrests don’t point out any basic change in Turkey’s posture in Syria, notably because it continues cooperating with teams labeled as extremists.”
