Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border
The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.
ANKARA — Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization has captured an alleged Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) media operative accused of trying to enter Turkey to rebuild the group’s recruitment and propaganda network.
What we know: The suspect, identified as Ahmet Kazanci and known by the aliases Abu Ubeyde and Abu Ibrahim, was described as the group’s new Turkey media coordinator, Turkish public broadcaster TRT reported Wednesday, citing security sources.
Kazanci illegally traveled from Turkey to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, joined ISIS-K several years ago and worked in the group’s camps, the report said.
Kazanci survived airstrikes targeting Islamic State elements in Pakistan and completed training in the region, later attempting to enter Turkey illegally, according to TRT.
He was captured in a border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan and brought to Turkey, the report said, without providing further details.
ISIS-K, the Afghanistan-based branch of the Islamic State, has claimed or been linked to several major attacks beyond Afghanistan in recent years.
The militant jihadi group is known to have a network inside Turkey. In January 2024, a gunman stormed Istanbul’s Santa Maria Catholic Church, killing one person during Sunday Mass. Turkish authorities later arrested a suspect they said helped plan the attack and supplied the weapon used in it, linking the attack to the jihadi group.
Why it matters: The operation comes after a series of Islamic State-linked attacks in Turkey over the past decade.
Most recently, Turkish authorities detained dozens of suspects after a shooting outside a high-rise in Istanbul’s Levent district that houses the Israeli Consulate General — an attack widely believed to be linked to ISIS. One assailant was killed and two police officers were wounded in the attack.
Turkish officials did not formally confirm the consulate as the target or name ISIS as the group behind the attack, but one of the slain attackers had previously been subject to an asset freeze over alleged ISIS membership.
In December, three police officers were killed during a raid on an ISIS-linked safe house in northwestern Yalova province, where six militants were also killed. Turkish authorities have since carried out repeated ISIS raids across the country, detaining hundreds of people.
Know more: Turkey has intensified operations against Islamic State networks since the church attack following ISIS-K-linked plots and attacks in Europe, Russia and Iran.
Security officials say Kazanci confessed to his role in ISIS-K's media unit and provided information on militant transfer routes from Turkey to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, according to TRT.
