Turkey says captured senior IS figure: report

Istanbul: Turkey’s intelligence agency has conducted a major operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, capturing a Turkish national who held a senior role within the Islamic State group, state media reported.

The suspect was identified as Mehmet Goren, who allegedly served for the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) province, Anadolu news agency said, citing security sources.

Goren had been tasked with organising suicide attacks targeting civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey and Europe.

The Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) found that Goren travelled from Turkey to the Afghanistan–Pakistan region, where he operated in IS camps and rose through the ranks to a leadership position, according to the report.

He also allegedly survived airstrikes in Pakistan targeting IS jihadists.

IS-K, the local branch of the IS group, has claimed responsibility for some of the worst attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond in recent years, many targeting civilians.

In March 2024, IS-K gunmen killed more than 140 people at a Moscow concert hall, and the group has carried out a series of deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official said on Friday the country had captured a leader from an offshoot of IS, after the arrest was reported by a United Nations sanctions monitoring group.

Turkey has intensified intelligence and counterterrorism operations in recent years against IS networks operating both domestically and abroad, particularly those linked to the group’s Khorasan affiliate.

Following intelligence-led tracking, Turkey’s MIT identified Goren’s location and apprehended him in the Afghanistan–Pakistan border area, Anadolu said.

He was subsequently brought to Turkey, it added.

Goren allegedly worked alongside Ozgur Altun, known by the code name “Abu Yasir Al Turki”.

The latter was previously arrested, transferred to Turkey and jailed for facilitating the movement of militants from Turkey to the region.