Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.20
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Some 2,760 people have been arrested in Turkey for having ties to the terrorist organization known as the 'Islamic State', Kanal 7 TV channel quoted Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag as saying on Nov.20.
He said 16 of the total number of the arrested are citizens of Turkey and 700 are Syrian citizens.
However, the minister didn't provide information about the citizenship of the remaining 2,044 arrested.
The 'Islamic State' (IS, formerly ISIL or ISIS,) was created in 2003 in Iraq. Between 2004 and 2006, the organization was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and consisted of 11 radical Islamist groups, which had close ties to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Following the start of military confrontation in Syria in 2013 between the armed opposition and the government forces, the IS penetrated the country. The organization said at the time it refuses to take the oath of Al-Qaeda and declared 'a holy war' against all groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Syrian government forces.
Strengthening of the IS in Syria allowed it to return to Iraq, deploying military actions against government forces there.
In late June of 2014, the IS announced about the creation of the 'Islamic Caliphate' on the territories under its control in Iraq and Syria. In turn, Iraqi authorities asked the international community for help in fighting the IS.
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Edited by SI