Turkish authorities have arrested a man they accuse of being an Islamic State (IS) explosive device and who was wanted by the United States, media reported on Monday (May 24th).
Mustafa Abdulwahab Mahmoud, born in 1999 in Egypt, was arrested along with three suspected accomplices in Istanbul where he was after fleeing Syria through Egypt, Turkish state television channel TRT reported.
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A prosecutor has also drafted an indictment in which he calls for up to 22 and a half years in prison against the suspect for "
belonging and administration of a terrorist group
".
According to TRT, the man arrested is an expert in making homemade bombs and explosive belts and was planning attacks in Turkey, including against American interests.
He also shared his know-how on the Internet with aspiring jihadists in other countries.
The American intelligence services, which followed the fireworks, shared information with the Turkish authorities which made it possible to carry out his arrest, according to the Turkish media.
Formerly accused of letting jihadists pass freely through its territory, Turkey has stepped up the fight against ISIS, which staged deadly attacks in the country, including a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people in 2017.
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Turkish authorities regularly arrest suspected ISIS members, some of whom settled in Turkey after the collapse of
ISIS's
self-proclaimed
“
caliphate
” in 2019. In early May, Ankara announced the arrest of a senior citizen. ISIS official presented as the right arm of its former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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