Turkish police detained 15 suspects in an operation targeting the Daesh terrorist group in Istanbul, authorities said Thursday.
The operation was carried out by counterterrorism and intelligence units under the coordination of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of an investigation into the group’s financing network.
Authorities identified suspects allegedly linked to Daesh who were accused of spreading propaganda through social media platforms. Following surveillance and intelligence work, police conducted simultaneous raids at multiple addresses across the city.
All 15 suspects were taken into custody and transferred to police headquarters for questioning. The investigation remains ongoing.
On the other hand, security sources said on Wednesday that the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) captured Daesh operative Ahmet Kazancı “in the border area.
Kazancı was part of the Daesh affiliate ISKP, or Islamic State-Khorasan Province, whose activities concentrate on South and Central Asia. He is also known under the aliases “Abu Ubeyde” and “Abu Ibrahim.” Sources said he succeeded Özgür Altun, another Turkish national also known as Abu Yasir Al Turki, who was in charge of Daesh’s “media wing” for Türkiye, a propaganda branch for the terrorist group. He was working under Altun and replaced him when Altun was captured.
MIT has cooperated with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to capture Altun, one of the most wanted terrorists within an international network of Daesh. Altun, who was nabbed in June 2025 on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was once promoted in Daesh-linked publications as the group’s “media spokesperson.”
During questioning, Kazancı admitted his association with Altun, described the military and ideological training he received within the group and acknowledged carrying out media and propaganda activities for the group, according to the sources. Security sources said the operation disrupted Daesh plans targeting Türkiye and exposed networks used to transfer recruits to the terrorist group.
Daesh remains a threat to Türkiye, which lost dozens of citizens in attacks by the group that thrived in its southern neighbors, Iraq and Syria.
