Türkiye detains 13 suspects over alleged ISIS links in Istanbul operation PHOTO

Thirteen suspects have been detained in Istanbul during an operation targeting the Islamic State group (ISIS), Turkish authorities said.

The operation was carried out by counterterrorism and intelligence units of the Istanbul Police Department under the coordination of the city’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Caliber.Az reports, citing Turkish media.

According to investigators, the suspects were involved in activities linked to the terrorist organisation and were also engaged in its propaganda on social media.

After identifying the suspects and their addresses, security forces conducted simultaneous raids, resulting in the arrests.

The detainees were taken to the security directorate for procedural actions.

This latest operation in Istanbul is part of Türkiye's ongoing, intensified counterterrorism campaign against ISIS.

In recent months, Turkish security forces have conducted large-scale operations across multiple provinces, including one in May 2026 centred on Istanbul that resulted in the detention of 110 suspects linked to the group for activities such as operating illegal mosques, providing ideological education to minors, collecting funds for imprisoned members, and spreading propaganda.

Earlier, at the end of 2025, authorities arrested over 350 ISIS suspects nationwide in coordinated raids following clashes in Yalova, with additional operations detaining dozens more for alleged planning of attacks around the holiday period.

By Jeyhun Aghazada