Ankara leads coordinated operations against Daesh, far-left groups

A total of 209 suspects linked to several terrorist organizations were detained in a series of coordinated operations carried out by police and gendarmerie forces in Türkiye’s capital Ankara, Daily Sabah reports.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara said counterterrorism police launched raids targeting 148 suspects allegedly connected to Daesh and a range of far-left groups, including DSIH, TKP/ML, TKIP, the People’s Revolutionary Liberation Party-Front (DHKP/C), MLKP, THKP/C, and DKP/BÖG. Separately, gendarmerie counterterrorism units conducted operations to detain 93 suspects linked to TKP/ML, Daesh, DHKP/C, and MLKP.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, 209 suspects out of 241 wanted individuals were apprehended in the operations.

In a separate statement, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul said 24 DHKP/C suspects were detained in operations carried out across the city and seven other provinces, while 13 additional suspects remain at large.

Daesh and DHKP/C are among the main security threats facing Türkiye. Daesh has been responsible for a series of deadly attacks in the country in the past, while DHKP/C—though involved in fewer lethal incidents—continues to be regarded as a significant security concern, particularly in major urban centres.

The group follows a far-left ideology and has carried out attacks and assassinations in Türkiye since the 1980s. However, its operational capacity has been significantly weakened by sustained counterterrorism campaigns.

Among the DHKP/C’s most high-profile attacks are a 2013 suicide bombing targeting the US Embassy in Ankara and the 2015 killing of a prosecutor inside an Istanbul courthouse.

Türkiye was among the first countries to designate Daesh as a terrorist organization in 2013 and has since conducted ongoing operations against the group, detaining hundreds of suspects over the years. Authorities say these operations have disrupted plots by Daesh to target places of worship across the country.

Turkish security officials also say that members and supporters of Daesh and other groups, including the PKK and its Syrian offshoot the YPG, maintain networks inside Türkiye. Since 2013, authorities have frozen millions of lira in assets as part of efforts to combat terrorism financing in line with United Nations sanctions.

By Vafa Guliyeva