Turkish authorities captured twenty-four ISIS terror financiers

Twenty-four suspects accused of financing terrorist group ISIS were apprehended in nationwide operations late Monday.

The arrest warrants were issued by prosecutors in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. The suspects were captured in operations across 11 cities in Turkey.

The unidentified suspects are accused of sending money to Daesh members in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Indonesia and Libya. Some $579,000, 5,285 euros and TL 1.3 million ($242,378) were found in the possession of the suspects, along with “digital documents” showing their links to fellow Daesh members.

In related news, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced yesterday that Turkey “has gained historic results” against terrorist groups and to date. Some 2,000 people were arrested and 7,000 others were deported in operations against ISIS.

Erdoğan added that around 70,000 people were denied entry to Turkey over their links to the terrorist group. ISIS, which is blamed for a string of terror attacks in Turkey in the past three years, saw a decline in membership with militants fleeing Syria and Iraq where it once controlled large swathes of land. Turkey helped Syrian rebels in a 2016 operation in war-torn Syria to regain control of a number of ISIS-controlled towns.

Meanwhile, a court in central Turkey’s Kayseri sentenced a ISIS member to six years and three months in prison yesterday for ISIS membership. The suspect identified as Amin al-Kurdi, 38, was accused of serving as ISIS representative in Iraq’s Tal Afar. He was arrested in the city last year.

Source: Bakhtar News