Turkey: Police arrest 27, including Iraqi nationals for suspected involvement with ISIS

Nearly ten Iraqi citizens were apprehended by Turkish police officers on Tuesday in an operation against the Islamic State (ISIS) organisation from the province of Samsun in the Black Sea region, according to the Anadolu Agency. Throughout their stay in Iraq, the Iraqi nationals were suspected of working for the Islamic State. Further, while conducting simultaneous search investigations in the Ilkadim neighbourhood at the suspects' homes, police authorities have collected certain digital documents. 

Similarly, in another separate raid in Turkey's central Kayseri province, nearly 17 individuals who are suspected to be in connection with ISIS militants were arrested on Tuesday. The raids took place in those regions after police personnel initiated an inquiry into persons who were suspected of providing lodging to militants of the Islamic State who had crossed into Turkey after activities in Syria and Iraq. 

Turkey approves resolution for cross-border activities in northern Iraq and Syria

Meanwhile, the Turkish Parliament approved a resolution on October 26, expanding the government's permission to conduct cross-border activities in northern Iraq and Syria for another two years. According to the Xinhua news agency, the resolution will allow cross-border activities in Iraq and Syria from 30 October 2021 to 30 October 2023. It went on to say that the prior cross-border resolutions were only for a year. In addition, the resolution permitted the installation of foreign armed troops in Turkey, subject to the consent of the President. 

Turkey neutralises 12 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party 

Furthermore, Turkey's Defense Ministry had stated on October 4 that Turkish soldiers had taken a significant Kurdish insurgent stronghold in northern Iraq. The mission "neutralised" 12 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, according to the ministry's tweet, as reported by AP. Adjacent to the Turkish border, the mission occurred in a zone wherein three Turkish troops were killed in August. 

The PKK's "eastern headquarters" were taken, according to the ministry, in a major blow against the organisation, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and the EU. Though, there were no specifics on when the procedure took place. In April, Turkey started its most recent air and ground operations in northern Iraq in an effort to reduce the PKK's capacity to carry out cross-border strikes in Turkey. Since the PKK launched its violent struggle in 1984, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives. 

(Image: PTI/AP/Representative)