IS designates Turkey as its next base
The Islamic State has selected Turkey as its next base to reorganize, recruit and plan.
Turkey — the logistics lifeline of jihadi movements in Iraq and Syria — has failed to clear its own backyard of jihadi threats. There are credible indications that the Islamic State (IS), after losing its territorial dominance in Iraq and Syria, has designated Turkey as its next reorganization base.
The killings of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir so close to the Turkish border were clear signs that IS' next destination was Turkey. There are, of course, other pertinent developments.
The arrests of so many IS members by Turkish security forces are another sign of IS' intention to create cells in the country.
Iraqi intelligence sources have provided solid information that the brains of IS have moved to Turkey. The United States has tracked the jewelry shops and foreign currency exchanges used by IS in money transfers. The US Treasury Department on Sept. 10 placed al-Haram, al-Hebo, al-Khalidi and Saksouk foreign exchange bureaus and jewelry outlets on its sanctions list for transferring money for IS.
