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Three Suicide Bombers Arrested in Gaziantep | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Turkey’s Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu. AP


Ankara – Turkish officials said that authorities have arrested three alleged ISIS militants who are suspected of having trained to become suicide bombers.

A brief statement from the Gaziantep governor’s office issued Tuesday said that two of the suspects were detained in Feb. 14 in the province that borders Syria, while the third suspect was captured a week later in the neighboring province of Adiyaman.

Two other suspects, who were also detained, were released on probation, the statement read. Authorities identified three ISIS groups engaging in activities in the country at a “senior level” during counter-terrorism operations, added the statement.

The suspects were rounded up in a raid that was carried out with information provided by two senior ISIS operatives during questioning earlier.

Turkish authorities have expanded their anti-terror campaigns targeting ISIS militants since the beginning of this year in light of what latest investigations have revealed with ISIS terrorist Abdulkadir Masharipov, who carried out the attack on Reina nightclub.

The detainee confessed that there are many ISIS cells in Turkey, who are mostly foreigners.

Meanwhile, Turkish Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu dismissed Agri co-Mayor Sirri Sakik from his position as part of Turkey’s crackdown on Kurdish officials.

Sakik, from the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), was reportedly replaced by Agri Governor Musa Isin.

Moreover, two co-leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and at least 12 of its MPs were arrested for supporting terrorism as police raided homes in Ankara and Kurdish-majority areas in eastern Turkey in November, 2016 .