By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Islamic State (ISIS) was planning attacks during Christmas and the New Year

The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office announced on Thursday that Turkish security forces have detained 115 individuals suspected of membership in the Islamic State (ISIS) and planning attacks during Christmas and New Year celebrations.

According to the office, Istanbul police, based on intelligence information, concluded that ISIS members in Turkey, especially targeting non-Muslims, intended to carry out attacks during these festive occasions.

A statement published on the social media platform X revealed that police raided 124 locations across Istanbul as part of the operation and arrested 115 out of 137 identified suspects.

During the operation, several pistols and a quantity of ammunition were seized from the searched sites. Turkish authorities stated that investigations and efforts to arrest other suspects are ongoing.

The detentions come amid a drive by Turkey’s security forces ahead of New Year festivities, although some also view it as part of a political push ahead of local elections due in March.

Analysts say that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is keen to win back control of Istanbul, Ankara, and other major economic hubs that his AK Party has lost.

According to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, the suspects included three alleged senior ISIL fighters. It added that plans also included an attack on the Iraqi embassy in Ankara.

Despite the group having been largely defeated, some ISIL fighters remain in hiding in remote areas of Syria and Iraq, from which they continue to carry out attacks.

Flowers are placed outside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, which was attacked by an ISIL gunman early on New Year's Day in 2017

The detentions come a week after police rounded up 304 suspected ISIL fighters in simultaneous raids across Turkey, in a similar security operation before the New Year.

Yerlikaya had said on Friday that the detentions had thwarted planned attacks on churches and synagogues in Istanbul.

 

The Operation

Devotees attend a Christmas Eve mass at the Saint Antuan church, the largest Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul, on December 24, 2025.

Police carried out simultaneous arrest, search, and seizure operations at 124 addresses, seizing pistols, ammunition, and what officials described as organizational documents. Operations to apprehend the remaining 22 suspects are ongoing, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors in Istanbul say attacks targeting non-Muslims this week were being planned by the group.

Mass raids were carried out at 124 addresses across Istanbul, the city's chief prosecutor said, with firearms, ammunition, and "organizational documents" seized. Officials said IS supporters had been actively planning attacks across Turkey this week, particularly against non-Muslims.

Police detained 115 suspects, but efforts are ongoing to trace a further 22, an official statement read. Authorities said further information would be released as the investigation continues.

 

 

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