Türkiye Detains 147 People over Suspected ISIS Ties

Security officers check the site where two attackers were killed outside a courthouse in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Security officers check the site where two attackers were killed outside a courthouse in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Türkiye Detains 147 People over Suspected ISIS Ties

Security officers check the site where two attackers were killed outside a courthouse in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Security officers check the site where two attackers were killed outside a courthouse in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish authorities have detained 147 people suspected of having ties to ISIS in operations across 33 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.

The "Operation Heroes-49", was carried out simultaneously across the country, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.

Last month, one Turkish citizen was killed by two ISIS gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul. Turkish police captured the suspected perpetrators of the attack.

Two people attacked Türkiye's largest courthouse before being shot dead Tuesday in an exchange of fire that also left one other person dead and five wounded. Authorities alleged the assailants were part of an extremist organization that had been largely inactive in recent years.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the man and woman attacked a security checkpoint at the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul, and then were killed in an exchange of fire. Authorities said that one other woman also was killed in the gunfire, and that three police officers and two civilians were wounded.

Yerlikaya later said the attackers were alleged members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP/C, a far-left group that is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.



Israel Plans to Appeal ICC Arrest Warrants for Alleged Gaza War Crimes

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
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Israel Plans to Appeal ICC Arrest Warrants for Alleged Gaza War Crimes

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel plans to appeal the International Criminal Court’s recent decision to issue arrest warrants against him and his former defense minister over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The court last week issued the arrest warrants, accusing Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes for actions during Israel’s war in Gaza. The court said there was reasonable grounds to believe the two leaders bear responsibility for using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid to Gaza and have intentionally targeted civilians.

Both men have condemned the decision and accused the court of anti-Israeli bias and undermining Israel’s right to self-defense.

Netanyahu said he discussed the matter Wednesday with Republican US Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is leading an effort in the US Congress to impose sanctions against the court and countries cooperating with it.

Netanyahu’s office said Israel also informed the ICC on Wednesday of “its intention to appeal to the court along with a demand to delay implementation of the arrest warrants.” It said the appeal would argue the warrants lacked any “legal or factual basis.”

Israel and the US are not members of the ICC, and the court does not have jurisdiction to make arrests on Israeli territory. But both men could be subject to arrest if they enter any of the court’s member states, which include allies like the UK, France and Italy.