Six provinces in Turkey have become the global stronghold of the Islamic State (ISIS) after the terror group, known for its extreme brutality, was forced to regroup following the killing of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Iraq in 2019.
The group has buried its weapons in half-a-dozen provinces including Turkey’s commercial capital Istanbul, Izmir and Adana, Kasim Guler, the leader of ISIS in Turkey, now in detention, has told his interrogators.
The group has chapters in 12 provinces, Deutsche Welle Turkish reported.
Guler was arrested near Turkey’s border with Syria, in June 2021. He was quoted as saying that the ISIS had launched a plan to implement what it called the ‘mountain project’ in Turkey’s southern provinces, and turning them into a base to launch Jihadist operations. This included a plan to draw and train militants from Europe in the area.
ISIS has a cache of buried weapons that includes RPGs, machine guns, automatic rifles, silencers, and large amounts of ammunition, he added.
In his 74-page confession Guler said that an ISIS cell called Salahaddin Group was tasked to kidnap Turkish deputies and ministers to seek release of its prisoners in Turkish custody.
The group was also targeting Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkey’s LGBT community, and NATO's Incirlik Airbase in Adana.
The terror kingpin admitted that the ISIS was responsible for the horrific 2015 Ankara bombings, which killed 109 civilians outside the Central railway station. It was also responsible for masterminding the 2014 Suruc suicide bombing that targeted Leftists and killed 34 people. Besides, the group was responsible for the stunning 2017 new year shooting in which 39 people were killed and 79 others injured at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul.
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