Turkish security forces and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) dealt a severe blow to the Daesh terrorist group in the past three years, with senior members captured and terrorists' plans uncovered.
In numerous counterterror operations at home and abroad between February 2019 and April 2022, the Turkish intelligence nabbed several senior and wanted Daesh terrorists.
Kasım Güler, codenamed Abu Usame al Turki, was brought to Turkey after he was arrested in an operation led by the Turkish intelligence in Syria on June 15, 2021.
Güler, who was responsible for terrorist activities in Turkey and was named in the red category of the Interior Ministry's wanted terrorists list, was remanded by a Turkish court.
Two Daesh terrorists, Orhan Moran and Mustafa Kılıçlı, were captured in Syria and brought back to Turkey on April 18. The two later admitted that they were planning attacks in Turkey and on the Turkish military in Syria.
In a joint operation by the police and intelligence, a senior Daesh terrorist was arrested in the capital Ankara on Feb. 24, 2021.
The terrorist was a former officer of the Iraqi military and became a senior operative of the terrorist group in the northern Mosul province.
Authorities nabbed four suspects with links to the terrorist group in the northwestern city of Bursa on Feb. 17, 2019.
Among the suspects were two women who were wanted by Interpol with "red" and "blue" notices.
Separately, the Turkish intelligence and security forces carried out simultaneous operations to destroy the terrorist group's financial and logistics network in Turkey.
Tunisian national Mahmud Jabran, Lebanese Mohammed Mehdi Aldine, and Syrian Husam Elhumeydi codenamed Refik, were captured in Istanbul, Ankara and the southern Mersin province, respectively.
On May 2, 2021, a local directorate of the intelligence and counterterrorism police unit in Istanbul held a terror suspect who was found to be linked with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the killed leader of Daesh. The suspect was later remanded by a Turkish court.
In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group.
The country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.
In response, Turkey launched counterterrorism operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.
Meanwhile, Turkish security forces and MIT eliminated 82 senior PKK terrorists during cross-border counterterrorism operations from Jan. 1 to July 25, 2019. Additionally, eight senior figures of the terrorist group were nabbed and brought back to Turkey.
Cimşit Demir, codenamed Piro Karker, wanted by Interpol with a red notice, was captured in northern Iraq and brought to Turkey in 2021.
Halef el Muhammed, codenamed Sofi Nurettin, Ulaş Doğan, codenamed Ulaş Dersim, and Özcan Yıldız, codenamed Dr. Rodi, were among the senior terrorists that were eliminated in northern Iraq in 2021. El Muhammed and Doğan were named in the red category of Turkey's wanted terrorists list.
The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.