Turkish security forces on Tuesday apprehended a Daesh terrorist planning to carry out an attack in the country's southern province of Adana.
The counterterrorism units carried out a raid upon receiving intelligence from the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported.
The 41-year-old terrorist, identified as Irfan Ç. and codenamed “Abu Ahmed,” had been planning to carry out a bomb attack, sources said. He was detained in the Kabasakal Cemetery in the Çukurova district.
He had been trying to unify the terrorist group in Turkey after ringleader Mahmut Özden was apprehended in 2020. He also held talks with the Syria-based Daesh figure responsible for the terrorist group’s operations in Turkey and had been plotting a coordinated attack.
Police also raided the terrorist’s home and confiscated digital materials and found correspondence with senior Daesh terrorists.
He was transferred to court after completing his procedures at the police station and was arrested and sent to prison.
The terrorist had been imprisoned in 2015 for recruiting terrorists for Daesh but he was released in 2019.
Although the terrorist group has been largely defeated in Iraq and Syria, its presence still poses a threat as individuals following its ideology encourage others to carry out violence. European analysts have also warned against attacks by Daesh as isolated individuals not under the watch of intelligence services have become more common.
Turkey recognized Daesh as a terrorist group in 2013, and since then the country has been attacked numerous times, including 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings and four armed assaults, which in total have killed 315 people and injured hundreds more.
In response, Turkey launched military and police operations both inside and outside the country, capturing top Daesh members in counterterrorism efforts at home and in Syria.
Turkish intelligence played a key role in the death of Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by detaining and extraditing one of his aides to Iraq, who provided U.S. authorities with critical information needed to locate him.
According to Interior Ministry figures, at least 2,000 people were arrested and 7,000 others deported in operations against Daesh in Turkey in the past few years, while around 70,000 people have been denied entry into the country over their suspected links to the terrorist group.
