Suspected ISIS members arrested in Turkey - report
The suspects were reportedly planning terror attacks on several consulates and places of Christian and Jewish worship.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: FEBRUARY 5, 2023 08:52AN ISIS fighter uses his phone to lm a military parade in Syria’s northern Raqqa province in 2014(photo credit: REUTERS)
Fifteen suspected members of ISIS were arrested in the northwestern Turkish province of Kocaeli, east of Istanbul, on Saturday, according to the Turkish SoL newspaper. This report is corroborated by Pakistani news outlet Dunya, as well as Israel's KAN news. Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper, however, only reports that five suspected ISIS members were arrested.
According to KAN, the suspects were planning terror attacks on several consulates as well as places of Christian and Jewish worship. They were specifically targeting the consulates of Denmark and Sweden in response to the recent Koran burning in Stockholm. This, in turn, was part of a protest against Turkey and Sweden's attempts to join NATO.
According to SoL's report, authorities were able to confirm the suspects' ties to ISIS but were unable to establish concrete evidence that they posed a threat to any places of worship.
Diplomatic concerns - NATO, Sweden and Turkey
Protesters demonstrate outside the Consulate General of Sweden after Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, who has Swedish citizenship, burned a copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 22, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/UMIT BEKTAS)
Protests in Stockholm last week sharply heightened tensions with Turkey at a time when the Nordic country needs Ankara's backing to gain entry to the military alliance.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book ... Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
Its statement was issued after an anti-immigrant politician from the far-right fringe burned a copy of the Koran near the Turkish Embassy. The Turkish ministry urged Sweden to take necessary actions against the perpetrators and invited all countries to take concrete steps against Islamophobia.
The Koran burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line. Paludan, who also has Swedish citizenship, has held a number of demonstrations in the past where he has burned the Koran.
