Sertac Bulur
February 24, 2021•Update: February 24, 2021
ANKARA
Security forces captured a senior Daesh/ISIS terrorist and rescued an Ezidi girl in an operation carried out in Turkey’s capital Ankara, sources said on Wednesday.
The terrorist recently arrived in Ankara and was apprehended in a joint operation by the police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), according to the sources, who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The suspect was a former officer of the Iraqi military who became a senior operative of the terror group in the northern province of Mosul, the sources said.
A 7-year-old Ezidi girl abducted from Iraq was rescued in the operation by Turkish forces and handed over to the provincial social services authorities, the sources added.
In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist group.
The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.
In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.
* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk
