Seven Turkish Police Officers Wounded in Clash with ISIL Fighters

Seven Turkish police officers were injured in a shootout during an operation against alleged ISIL (ISIS) fighters at a home in Yalova province’s Elmalik village on Sunday. According to TRT Haber, police carried out the raid and exchanged fire with suspects. The officers’ injuries were not reported as serious.

Special forces from nearby Bursa province joined the operation, providing support and enforcing ongoing security measures in the area. Locals and vehicles were barred from entering the surrounding area of the targeted home. The Yalova governorate also suspended classes at five nearby schools.

Turkish authorities have conducted raids on 124 locations and apprehended 115 ISIL suspects since Thursday. Intelligence indicated that operatives were planning attacks against non-Muslims in Turkiye during the holiday period, according to the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office.

The US military has carried out strikes against ISIL in neighboring Syria, targeting over 70 sites earlier this month. The strikes followed an attack on Palmyra last week, which killed two US soldiers and an interpreter. Turkiye has expanded its efforts against ISIL since relocating operatives from Iraq and Syria in 2019. Previous raids led to the capture of nearly 300 suspected ISIL members across 47 provinces over two weeks.

Since 2013, authorities have arrested over 19,000 people for suspected affiliations with ISIL.

Source: Al Jazeera