Turkey Foils Planned Christmas, New Year Attacks; Arrests Over 100 ISIS Suspects

Turkish authorities said they disrupted planned attacks targeting Christmas and New Year celebrations after arresting more than 100 suspected members of the Islamic State group (ISIS) in a series of coordinated operations. According to the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul, mass raids were carried out at 124 addresses across the city, leading to the seizure of firearms, ammunition and what officials described as “organisational documents”.

Authorities said ISIS supporters had been actively planning attacks across Turkey this week, with a particular focus on events involving non-Muslims. Police detained 115 suspects during the raids, while efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest a further 22 individuals, an official statement said. The prosecutor’s

office said the suspects were in contact with ISIS operatives based outside Turkey.

The announcement came two days after Turkish intelligence agents carried out a separate operation targeting ISIS near the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. During that raid, a Turkish national alleged to have held a senior position within an ISIS affiliate operating in the region was detained.

Officials said the suspect was accused of planning attacks against civilians.

Turkey’s security services regularly target individuals suspected of links to ISIS, which has carried out multiple deadly attacks in the country over the past decade.

Turkey shares a nearly 900-kilometre border with Syria, where ISIS continues to operate in parts of the country despite losing most of the territory it once controlled. Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has close ties with the Turkish government, has said his administration is working with the United States and European countries to eliminate remaining ISIS elements.

Turkish authorities said security measures remain heightened nationwide as investigations continue into the suspected plots and the search for remaining suspects.