Acting on a tip from the US government, Turkish authorities have arrested a senior Islamic State operative in Istanbul, the latest in a string of arrests of jihadis in Turkey, state-run Turkish radio and television reported today.
Mustafa Abdulwahab Mahmud, a 32-year-old Egyptian who was a top explosives expert for IS, was detained with three other suspects in Istanbul after fleeing Syria, TRT said, following a tip from US intelligence services. In early May, Turkey arrested an Afghan national code-named Basim described as the “right-hand man” of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who killed himself to avoid capture by US forces in October 2019 after he was tracked down in a hideout close to the Turkish border.
The United States has been turning the screws on IS operatives who continue to move money through Turkey. On May 17, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against three people and one company said to have played key roles in IS’ financial network. One of the sanctioned individuals, Alaa Khanfurah, is accused of using a Turkish-based money services company to funnel funds to his colleagues inside Syria, where IS resurgence is a mounting worry.
The sanctions also target another money services company, also based in Turkey, that is run by brothers Idris and Ibrahim al-Fay.
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