Turkish Police Foil ISIS Plot in Bursa

Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey | (Reuters)
Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey | (Reuters)
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Turkish Police Foil ISIS Plot in Bursa

Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey | (Reuters)
Two members of the police special forces patrol outside a police station after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey | (Reuters)

Turkish security forces foiled an ISIS plot to attack Bursa police station and arrested the terrorist who had planned the attack.

Security sources said the police teams in Bursa were also examining surveillance footage in the region after five furniture workshops were burned by arson in July.

The footage showed suspect recording arson footage by his cellphone and decided to further conduct investigations. The suspect was seen leaving the scene on a red bicycle, which counter-terrorism teams found in front of a house, the source added.

Police units then raided the house of the suspect, identified as M.A, and found ISIS flags, three explosive devices, a suicide vest, and materials used in bomb-making.

The suspect was arrested and confessed to being a member of ISIS terrorist organization. He admitted that he contacted the group members through the Internet as he did not have a SIM card in his phone.

He also confessed to burning down the factories upon instructions from ISIS leaders, and that he was active in Syria in 2017-2018 as the terror group’s member where he received bomb training.

The suspect reported that he illegally came to Turkey two years ago and that he was planning to bomb the police station in Bursa.

The terrorist organization had previously claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks in Turkey over the past years, which resulted in the deaths of over 300 people and the injury of hundreds.

The most recent ISIS attack was on New Year's Eve 2017 in the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, which killed 39 people and injured 69 others.

The Turkish security services are carrying out continuous campaigns against the organization’s cells that have resulted in the arrest of over 5,000 of its members.

During the past five years, more than 3,000 ISIS terrorists were deported outside the country, while the authorities began in November 2019 to deport foreign ISIS fighters and their families to their countries of origin after the death of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a US airstrike in Idlib.

More than 200 of ISIS elements have been deported, and about 900 others are waiting in deportation centers.



Türkiye Arrests Five Mayors from CHP Opposition Party 

Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Arrests Five Mayors from CHP Opposition Party 

Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish police arrested five opposition mayors early Wednesday alongside 17 others as part of a probe into corruption allegations at CHP-held municipalities, a party spokesman told AFP.

The latest arrests targeted a former lawmaker and three CHP mayors in Istanbul, and two more in the southern province of Adana, the spokesman said.

The latest round of arrests brings to nine the total number of jailed CHP mayors, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The latest investigation began at the weekend when a court issued arrest orders for 47 municipal officials in connection with four separate corruption investigations centered on Istanbul, local media reported.

The March 19 arrest and jailing of Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Türkiye had seen in more than a decade.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu's private secretary and his private protection officer.

The CHP has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028 but whether he can run in the elections depends on the fate of numerous trials and probes.