 militants who took part in fighting in conflict zones in Syria and other areas in the region later acquired Turkish citizenship along with their families, while 19 members of the group were allowed to live in Turkey with foreign identity documents and temporary or international protection status, the Kısa Dalga news website reported, citing official documents.){kind=link}
Three Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants who took part in fighting in conflict zones in Syria and other areas in the region later acquired Turkish citizenship along with their families, while 19 members of the group were allowed to live in Turkey with foreign identity documents and temporary or international protection status, the Kısa Dalga news website reported, citing official documents.
According to the documents the militants were identified through technical examinations of ISIL propaganda videos and photographs conducted by counterterrorism police units in 2023 and 2024.
The findings were included in investigation files prepared by chief public prosecutor’s offices in the provinces of Çorum, Ordu, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Ankara, Elazığ, Mersin, Bursa, Düzce, Sakarya and İstanbul.
The documents show that 21 ISIL members who had been present in conflict zones obtained identity documents through provincial migration offices. Of those, three were later granted Turkish citizenship. Prosecutors said the citizenship decisions also covered the militants’ spouses and children.
Investigators said the militants arrived in Turkey during ISIL’s period of disintegration and were found to have actively participated in the group’s operations in Syria and other conflict zones.
ISIL seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2013 but lost most of it between 2017 and 2019. In 2014 it declared a self-proclaimed caliphate and asserted religious and political authority over Muslims worldwide, a claim rejected by the vast majority of Muslims. The United Nations and many countries, including Muslim-majority countries such as Turkey, designate the group as a terrorist organization.
While Turkey has officially designated ISIL as a terrorist organization and conducted periodic raids against its cells, intelligence reports and previous court cases have shown that ISIS financial couriers and facilitators have operated from Turkish cities, particularly along the southern border.
Records prepared by the prosecutors’ offices show that 19 ISIL members obtained foreign identity numbers and lived in Turkey under temporary or international protection status. Prosecutors said some of them worked in insured jobs.
The documents also detail ISIL propaganda material reviewed by counterterrorism units. The videos included armed militants in conflict zones, suicide bombing preparations, explosions, execution footage and scenes involving children used for propaganda.
Some of the footage contained statements targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish security forces, as well as pledges of allegiance to the group and commemorations of slain ISIL leaders, prosecutors said.
The three militants granted Turkish citizenship were identified as Sultan Abdulrahman Mohammed Balmahar, Marvan Alziyap and Ammar Almarawi.
Balmahar, a Yemeni citizen born in Saudi Arabia, applied to the Istanbul Provincial Migration Office in May 2019 and received a foreign identity number under temporary protection, according to the documents. About five months later, he and his wife and three children were granted Turkish citizenship.
Prosecutors said Balmahar later was treated at a state hospital in İstanbul and was detained in 2023 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization after photographs of him with ISIL militants in the Syrian city of Raqqa were identified. His case is currently under appeal.
Alziyap, born in Syria and also a Saudi citizen, applied to the İstanbul migration office in 2016 and obtained a foreign identity number. He and his wife and six children were granted Turkish citizenship in January 2019, prosecutors said.
Investigators said Alziyap appeared in ISIL videos and photographs taken in Raqqa. He was arrested on charges of membership in a terrorist organization. His case is also pending appeal.
Almarawi applied to the İstanbul migration office in 2012 and obtained a foreign identity number, according to the documents. He was granted Turkish citizenship in November 2019 along with his wife and child.
Prosecutors said Almarawi worked as a registered software developer for a private company and used multiple phone numbers under different names over a 10-year period. Investigators said he was identified in ISIL meetings in Raqqa where allegiance to the group was declared.
Yemeni national Abdulkafi Abdulaziz Alshameri is among the suspected ISIL militants who was living in Turkey with a residence permit. He was studying electrical and electronics engineering at İstanbul Kultur University. Prosecutors said he also worked at the university as a registered employee.
The documents said Alshameri appeared in ISIL propaganda videos and was seen dining with ISIL militants in areas under the group’s control. His date of entry into Turkey was not specified.
The revelations come as Turkey continues nationwide operations against ISIL following deadly attacks and clashes with the group.
In late December Turkish authorities launched a countrywide sweep after three police officers were killed during a raid in northwestern Yalova province. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said six suspected ISIL militants were killed in the clash.
Turkey shares a 900-kilometer border with Syria and has faced repeated ISIL attacks over the past decade, including a January 1, 2017, nightclub attack in İstanbul that killed 39 people.
Opposition lawmakers have previously accused the government of failing to prevent or properly investigate the presence of ISIL militants in Turkey. The government denies protecting militant groups and says it has intensified its counterterrorism efforts.