Police nab Daesh suspects in Istanbul, but say no 'concrete threats' seen

Istanbul police have arrested 15 Daesh suspects, who allegedly received instructions to act on some consulates and places of worship for Jews and Christians in the largest city in Türkiye. 

According to reports on Sunday, the arrests were made on Saturday, but police were quick to say that while it was determined that the suspects had connections with the terror group that first emerged in Iraq and Syria, "concrete treats" of an imminent attack on the specific targets "could not be detected."

Istanbul Police Department anti-terrorism branch teams started work to decipher the activities of the Daesh terrorist organisation and to apprehend the suspects over the weekend.

The intelligence that led to the police operation stated that the suspects may have received instructions from the so-called Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of Daesh which is active in South Asia and Central Asia.

The ISKP leadership ordered acts against the Swedish and Dutch Consulates in Istanbul and on places of worship belonging to Christian and Jewish citizens, an Istanbul police statement said.

Sweden and the Netherlands have been at the centre of angry protests in Türkiye after anti-Muslim leader Rasmus Paludan burned the Muslim holy book in Stockholm. A similar incident took place in The Hague shortly after.

This week, a group of Western countries temporarily closed down their consulates in Istanbul over "security concerns." 

Turkish officials condemned those move, saying the countries were waging “psychological warfare” and attempting to damage the country's tourism industry.

READ MORE: Türkiye arrests over two dozen Daesh and PKK affiliated suspects