Three Turkish police officers killed by ISIS militants as authorities step up raids over winter holidays
A general view of the house in Turkey's Yalova province where Turkish security forces launched an operation targeting suspected ISIS militants on Monday.
Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — ISIS militants opened fire on police during an overnight raid in Turkey’s western Yalova province on Monday, killing three people and injuring eight others, according to authorities.
Turkish authorities said six ISIS members were killed and five other people were detained in the operation which lasted more than seven hours in the village of Elmalik, 62 miles (100 kilometers) from Istanbul.
The raid came as law enforcement authorities stepped up raids ahead of what they say are planned attacks against minorities during the winter holidays.
Social media videos of the operation showed a nighttime gunfight as police raided a suspected ISIS safehouse. Footage shot later showed smoke billowing from the area of the raid and fire trucks racing to the scene.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the raid was conducted with “a great deal of care because there were women and children at the address.” The five women and six children at the address were taken to safety, he said in his televised press briefing.
Electricity and natural gas to Elmalik were cut during the raid, the Turkish state broadcaster reported. Schools in the area were canceled for the day.
Turkey routinely launches wide-ranging counterterrorism sweeps around the country against ISIS as well as other groups like the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that it designates as terrorist organizations.
Authorities step up raids particularly around the end-of-the-year holidays since a 2017 ISIS attack on the Reina nightclub during New Year celebrations killed 39 people. The last ISIS attack in Turkey was in January 2024 when armed men attacked a church in Istanbul, killing one person.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the raid has been launched and five state prosecutors have been assigned to the case.
Yerlikaya said that over the past month, 138 terror suspects were detained and 97 were placed under judicial control measures.
Turkish security forces have been carrying out coordinated raids across the country over alleged plots linked to Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations, according to a statement by the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday.
“Information was found that the ISIS armed terrorist organization was planning to carry out actions targeting our country, especially non-Muslim individuals, within the scope of the upcoming Christmas and New Year events,” the statement said.
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