Police report on ISIL suicide bomb suspects leads to Ankara district
Mesut Hasan Benli - ANKARA
An Ankara Police Department report on four Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) suspects accused of planning suicide bomb attacks has shed light on the Çubuk district of the Turkish capital, where a mosque is thought to be affiliated with the jihadist group. The report, which has been presented to a court, focused on four ISIL suspects, three of whom were identified by the initials A.O.Ç., H.Y. and Ö.Y., who were captured ahead of a potential attack on New Year’s Eve in Ankara.
“In the recent period, people who believe in the Salafi ideology and who were active in small groups were brought together by A.O.Ç., Ö.Y. and those with them. It was determined that they were gathering in a mosque in Çubuk under a single roof,” the report stated, daily Hürriyet reported.
“It was determined that participation in Friday prayers in the mosque is high and is increasing due to invitations of local shopkeepers in Çubuk,” the report added.
A complaint had been registered at the heavy penal court against the four suspects, two of whom were allegedly set to become suicide bombers.
The court then requested that the police headquarters in Ankara examine H.Y. and Ö.Y.’s connection to ISIL, after which police submitted the report to the court.
H.Y. was using the codename Abu Abdelkader and organized border crossings for fighters heading across the Turkish border into Syria, the report stated. It also added that his brother, Ö.Y., had gone to Syria and had formed a “lecture class” of five to six people when he came back to Turkey.
The report stated that Fridays were considered “official holidays” by people who attended the mosque.
“It is known that people who support the ISIL terrorist group’s ideas and views do not recognize the official public holidays set by the state, instead declaring Fridays as holidays,” the report read, adding that investigations into the subject are still ongoing at the Çubuk Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
