Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Islamic State members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country.
Istanbul's chief prosecutor's office revealed this on Thursday 25 December, a day set aside by Christians worldwide to celeberate Christmas.
Police said they obtained information that Islamic State members had planned attacks in Türkiye, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
In a statement released on X, the chief prosecutor's office said that the arrests were a culmination of investigations carried out by the anti-terror department.
“Information was found that the ISIS Armed Terrorist Organisation was planning to carry out actions targeting our country, especially non-Muslim individuals, within the scope of the upcoming Christmas and New Year events,” the statement said.
“They were in contact with conflict zones within the scope of terrorist organisation activities,” it added.
Around 124 places were raided by the Police in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said.
Authorities added that they were still pursuing about 24 individuals who remain at large, noting that the detained suspects had arrest warrants issued against them in Türkiye and internationally.
This latest development comes days after Turkish intelligence officials captured a senior administrator within the Islamic state organisation.
The individual named as Mehmet Gören, was aprehended in the Afghanistan - Pakistan border region.
Operating under codename 'Yahya', he was assigned to carry out suicide attacks against civillians in Türkiye, Europe, Pakistan and Afghanistan according to security sources.
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