As New Year’s Eve approaches, the Ankara Provincial Gendarmerie Command reportedly has issued an internal communication warning its personnel and related units about potential ISIS attacks.
Daily Cumhuriyet said it obtained the communication dated Dec 19, which specifically identifies Ankara and İstanbul as areas of concern.
The communication reportedly states that intelligence was received suggesting plans for simultaneous attacks using explosives-laden vehicles in crowded public areas within the next few days.
It includes specific warnings about shopping malls and public markets and notes that potential attack methods could include armed assaults, suicide bombings, car bombings, drone strikes, or ramming vehicles into crowds.
ISIS 'seeking attention-grabbing attacks'
The reported motive behind the threat is described as a response by ISIS and other radical groups to their weakened operational capabilities.They are are now seeking high-impact, attention-grabbing attacks timed around New Year’s celebrations.
The warning also notes that instructions have allegedly been issued from ISIS’s so-called leadership to its members. These orders reportedly aim to prevent defections, boost morale among sympathizers, and spread fear among the public. The document adds that the organization may carry out attacks in various locations using a "lone wolf" model, relying on sleeper cells granted operational autonomy.
The communication calls on personnel to enhance security both within city centers and at entry points and urges that any intelligence gathered be shared with the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and police units.
ISIS carried out many attacks in Turkey between 2015-17, including a deadly armed assault in İstanbul on the New Year's Eve in 2017, when an assilant, acting as a "lone wolf," opened fire inside the Reina nightclub on the shore of the Bosphorus, killing 39 people and injuring dozens more. The attacker, who fled the scene, was captured weeks later and sentenced to multiple life terms for the massacre. (AEK/VK)
