Turkish authorities detained more than 200 people in a major security operation in Ankara on Tuesday, including suspects accused of ties to ISIS, ahead of a planned NATO summit in the capital on July 7-8.
The operation followed detention warrants issued for 241 suspects, with 209 people taken into custody, The Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the office of Turkey’s chief prosecutor.
Of those detained, 56 were alleged ISIS militants, according to the AP. Turkish officials previously announced in December that 125 suspected ISIS members had been taken into custody.
The raids took place about two weeks before the NATO gathering scheduled for July 7 in Ankara, where President Donald Trump is expected to be among the leaders in attendance.
President Donald Trump greets Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Oct. 13, 2025, to support ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo/Pool)
Authorities also detained 35 alleged members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front. In its statement, Turkey described the organization as “a far-left group known for armed attacks and assassinations in Turkey,” according to the AP.
The latest counterterrorism sweep underscores concerns that ISIS remains active in the region, even after the U.S.-backed campaign during Trump’s first term dismantled the group’s self-declared caliphate and ended its control over large areas of the Middle East.
Iraqi government forces celebrate while holding an Islamic State (IS) group flag after they claimed they had gained complete control of Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, on January 26, 2015, near the town of Muqdadiyah. (YOUNIS AL-BAYATI/AFP via Getty Images)
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In recent years, ISIS has spread into the African continent, prompting a strong response from the U.S. In May, Trump authorized a series of strikes in Nigeria to combat the group.
A May 16 strike killed ISIS leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who was the group’s second-in-command globally.
U.S. and Nigerian forces conducted kinetic strikes against ISIS fighters in northeastern Nigeria on May 17, 2026, AFRICOM said. (X/U.S. Africa Command)
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social after the strike. “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”
The group’s renewed activity also includes a call to supporters to make attacks on U.S. soil during the World Cup.
