Turkish gendarmerie special forces leave the site of an operation targeting suspected Islamic State militants in Yalova province, Turkey, 29 December 2025;
Credit: Reuters/Umit Bektas
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - On Tuesday 30 December 2025, Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against Islamic State, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkey, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected IS members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks.
Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday 29 December 2025.
In Tuesday's operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor's statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkey has stepped up operations against suspected IS militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally.
The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by IS, Australian police have said. On Friday 19 December 2025, the US military launched strikes against dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkey, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city's main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkey was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of IS, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
