Armed clashes in Yalova province
At dawn on Monday (December 29th), an armed clash lasted for about eight hours between Turkish security forces and members of the Islamic State (IS) in the village of Yalmalik in northwestern Turkey's Yalova province, killing three police officers and wounding eight others, along with six ISIS fighters, all of whom are Turkish nationals, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.
Tight Security
Turkish authorities imposed a wide security cordon around the site of the clash, closed the roads leading to it, cut off electricity and gas as a precautionary measure, suspended classes in five schools near the area, and evacuated a number of families from homes near the clashes without injuries.
Extensive security campaign in Turkish provinces
Earlier, the Turkish authorities launched a campaign of raids in several provinces, targeting members of ISIS as Christmas approaches in Turkey, and they were as follows:
- Phase I: (Thursday, December 25), Turkish authorities carried out raids in 124 locations and arrested 115 people from different provinces, based on intelligence information about a plan to target different communities during the holiday period.
- Phase II: (Monday 29 December), security forces carried out 108 simultaneous raids in several governorates, most notably in the village of Elmalek in Yalova province, which turned into an armed clash.
- Phase III (Tuesday, December 30): The campaign continued with additional raids in Istanbul and other states, resulting in the arrest of 110 additional suspects and the seizure of digital materials and documents related to the organization.
Turkish security sources indicated that the operation was based on intelligence information about a large plot targeting multiple sects during the New Year's celebrations, which explains its timing and size, stressing that the cell members were armed, and that the clash began immediately after the special forces entered the house where they were stationed.
Turkey's official position
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the families of the victims, vowing to continue the war against "murderers with bloodstained hands", both inside and outside Turkey, while the Turkish media agency stressed the imposition of a temporary ban on live media coverage, while only allowing the publication of official statements.
It is noteworthy that the group earlier claimed responsibility for the attack on the Church of Santa Maria in the Sariyer district of Istanbul on January 28, 2024, which resulted in the death of one person.
The clash in Yalova was not just a security incident, but part of a broader confrontation with sleeper cells seeking to target religious and social events, at a time when Ankara is trying to strengthen its image as a country capable of controlling internal security despite nearby border tensions