Turkish police capture key Islamic State figure—report | Inquirer News

Turkish police capture key Islamic State figure—report

/ 01:14 PM May 03, 2021

ANKARA — A senior figure in the Islamic State group described as the slain leader’s “right-hand man” has been captured by police in Istanbul, local media reported Sunday.

Officers detained the Afghan man, whose codename is “Basim”, during a joint raid with Turkish intelligence agents in the Atasehir district on the city’s Asian side.

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in 2019 in a US special forces raid carried out with the help of Kurdish fighters in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.

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Turkish media reported that the man captured had helped Baghdadi hide in Idlib.

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The suspect was also apparently responsible for the extremist group’s “so-called military wing”, the broadcaster NTV reported.

He arrived in Istanbul with a fake passport and identity card, the channel said, while DHA news agency said he was detained on April 28.

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Turkey has stepped up the fight against IS extremists who have carried out deadly attacks in the country, including the mass shooting at an elite Istanbul nightclub in 2017.

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That attack killed 39 people, including 27 foreigners.

Since then, there have been regular police raids to detain suspects across the country.

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TAGS: Police, Terrorism, Turkey

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