Turkey Captures 4 ISIS Suspects before Sneaking into Syria

Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 10, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Huseyin Aldemir
Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 10, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Huseyin Aldemir
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Turkey Captures 4 ISIS Suspects before Sneaking into Syria

Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 10, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Huseyin Aldemir
Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 10, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Huseyin Aldemir

Border units from the Turkish armed forces captured Saturday four ISIS suspects in the Akcakale district of Sanliurfa in southeast Turkey, on the Syrian border while they were attempting to cross the frontier illegally.

One of the suspects, identified as Feride Samur, was being sought with a red notice arrest warrant.

ISIS armed members conducted offensives in some Turkish states that claimed more than 300 lives and wounded dozens. The group also claimed responsibility for the gunshot in Reina nightclub during New Year’s Eve 2017.

The group members used Turkey as a passage between Syria and Iraq, during the past years.

Turkish security forces on Sunday arrested 30 ISIS-linked suspects, all foreign nationals, in the capital Ankara before the New Year’s Eve 2019.

In a separate operation, Turkish security forces on Friday arrested 10 Iraqi nationals in the north of the country, suspecting them of having links to the ISIS. According to Anadolu Agency, the arrests were made in northern Samsun province of Turkey.

Turkey prevented some 347 terror acts in 2018, the country's interior minister Suleyman Soylu said. "Last year, we prevented 697 terror acts - which became 347 this year. There is a tremendous struggle and serious success that can't be ignored," Soylu said.

ISIS extremists are blamed in Turkey for a spate of terror attacks including a 2015 bombing on a peace rally in the capital Ankara's train station that claimed 103 lives and wounded more than 500.

In December 2018, Turkish security forces arrested 251 suspected ISIS members, according to data released by the country’s interior ministry.



Sudan's Military Accepts UN Proposal of a Weeklong Ceasefire in El Fasher for Aid Distribution

The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
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Sudan's Military Accepts UN Proposal of a Weeklong Ceasefire in El Fasher for Aid Distribution

The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)

Sudan's military agreed to a proposal from the United Nations for a weeklong ceasefire in El Fasher to facilitate UN aid efforts to the area, the army said Friday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and asked him for the humanitarian truce in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, to allow aid delivery.

Burhan agreed to the proposal and stressed the importance of implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions, but it’s unknown whether the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces would agree and comply with the ceasefire.

“We are making contacts with both sides with that objective, and that was the fundamental reason for that phone contact. We have a dramatic situation in El Fasher,” Guterres told reporters on Friday.

No further details were revealed about the specifics of the ceasefire, including when it could go into effect.

Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the rival RSF escalated into battles in the capital, Khartoum, and spread across the country, killing more than 20,000 people.

The war has also driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine. UNICEF said earlier this year that an estimated 61,800 children have been internally displaced since the war began.

Guterres said on Friday that a humanitarian truce is needed for effective aid distribution, and it must be agreed upon several days in advance to prepare for a large-scale delivery in the El Fasher area, which has seen repeated waves of violence recently.

El Fasher, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum, is under the control of the military. The RSF has been trying to capture El Fasher for a year to solidify its control over the entire Darfur region. The paramilitary’s attempts included launching repeated attacks on the city and two major famine-stricken displacement camps on its outskirts.