Turkey arrested 100 suspected members of the Daesh terrorist outfit in the past week, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced. The Turkish authorities’s operations, called “Gurz-41” and “Gurz-42,” were conducted throughout 24 provinces, including the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya said on X.
Turkish authorities specified that the suspects were involved in activities within the organization, giving financial assistance to the group and pushing propaganda for the terrorist organization on social media, the minister revealed. He said the police confiscated organizational documents and digital content during the operations.
“With our strategy of destroying terrorism at its source, we continue our struggle with determination (together) with our police, gendarmerie and intelligence units,”
he stated.
24 ilde DEAŞ Terör Örgütüne yönelik Emniyetimiz ve Jandarmamız tarafından son 1 haftadır devam eden “GÜRZ-41" ve “GÜRZ-42” operasyonlarımızda; 100 şüpheli Terör Örgütü mensubu yakalandı. ❗️
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) January 28, 2025
Tüm Terör odaklarına karşı “Terörü kaynağında yok etme” stratejimizle; Emniyetimiz,… pic.twitter.com/a7QuR00jZ7
Authorities in Turkey have executed extensive operations against Daesh compartments, called Gurz operations, leading to the arrest of at least 943 suspects in 2024 alone. Daesh’s self-proclaimed caliphate disintegrated in 2019, leading some individuals to establish a network in Turkey, referred to as Khorasan Province (Daesh-K).
This network is reportedly pursuing “new methods” and actively attracting foreign citizens, as ongoing counterterrorism measures have posed considerable challenges, according to sources within Turkish security. The procedure, called GURZ-34, had been conducted across 57 provinces in collaboration with prosecutors, the National Intelligence Organisation, and the police’s counter-terrorism division, Yerlikaya said.
Turkey has been actively fighting against Daesh (ISIS) as part of its strategic move to protect national security. Some of the important operations that Turkey was involved in include Operation Euphrates Shield, initiated on August 24, 2016. The nation is a vital member of the Global Coalition Against Daesh, co-chairing the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Working Group. It has allowed coalition forces to use its airspace for operations against Daesh and has hosted training programs for local forces combating terrorism in the region.
