Turkish authorities have arrested 147 people suspected of belonging to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday.
These suspects were arrested in thirty of the country's 81 provinces, the minister said in a message posted on the social
network
X.
Forty people suspected of belonging to the IS group were arrested on Sunday in eight provinces of the country, according to the authorities.
Since June 1, 2023, a total of 2,919 people suspected of links with the jihadist group have been arrested in the country, said the Minister of the Interior.
A Turkish security source told AFP on Tuesday that two of the suspects arrested for their participation in the attack perpetrated in Moscow on Friday and claimed by ISIS had spent several weeks on Turkish soil before returning to Russia by plane on 2 March.
“The two individuals were free to move without hindrance between Russia and Turkey in the absence of an arrest warrant against them
,” said this official on condition of anonymity, for whom
“these two individuals have become radicalized in Russia given their short stay in Turkey
.