WORLD / MID-EAST
Turkey targets IS sponsors
The country to freeze assets of 17 people, four entities
Published: Dec 01, 2022 09:36 PM
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russian President on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand on September 16, 2022. Photo: AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russian President on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand on September 16, 2022. Photo: AFP

The Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry decided on Thursday to freeze the assets of some individuals and entities with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) group, according to the official Gazette of Republic of Turkey.

The decision to freeze the assets of 17 people and four legal entities in Turkey was "based on reasonable grounds that they have provided financing for terrorist organizations," said the gazette.

In early November, Turkish authorities detained at least 19 people with alleged links to the IS group.

Anti-terror police in the Turkish capital of Ankara have launched raids on 15 foreign nationals over alleged ties with the IS, some of whom had been active inside the group in past years, the state-run TRT television reported.

At least 12 of the suspects were detained in the raids, the TRT stated.

Meanwhile, the Turkish security forces detained four IS suspects in southeastern Batman province, Ihlas News Agency reported.

Two Syrians in southeastern Sanliurfa province and another Syrian in central Kayseri province were also detained for their alleged links to the IS, Demiroren News Agency reported.

Earlier in September, Turkish security forces captured one of the senior executives of the IS, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Turkish police and intelligence captured Bashar Hattab Ghazal al Sumaidai, code-named Abu Zeyd and Master Zeyd, the semiofficial Anadolu Agency reported.

"International reports and the UN Security Council report also contained information that this terrorist was one of the senior executives of the Daesh [IS] terrorist organization. During his interrogation, there are his statements that he was a so-called 'qadi' in the so-called ministry of education and the ministry of justice," Erdogan told reporters on the presidential plane on his way back from Croatia.

His connections in Syria and Istanbul had been followed for a long time, and intelligence information was obtained that he would enter Turkey illegally, Erdogan said.

Istanbul police found out that Al Sumaidai had been using a fake identity and props to disguise himself, Erdogan said. After Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abdul-Nasser Qardash, Abu Zeyd was one of the most important leaders of the group, Erdogan added.

The Turkish government designated the IS as a terrorist organization in 2013. The IS has been accused of launching a spate of deadly attacks in Türkiye since 2015. Turkish counter-terrorism forces have been conducting operations against IS members in the country.

Xinhua