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Turkey: Security forces raid 3 houses, 1 hotel in Istanbul to dismantle Iranian intelligent cell for planning attacks on Israelis

Israel had last month warned its citizens against visiting Turkey due to Iranian threats of revenge for the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodai.

TN World Desk

Updated Jun 23, 2022, 04:45 IST

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KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, earlier this week, claimed that Israel and Turkey had stopped numerous attempts by Iran-backed terrorists to attack Israelis
“The operational efforts with the Turkish security forces have borne fruit. In recent days, in a joint Israeli-Turkish effort, we thwarted a number of terrorist attempts and numerous terrorists were arrested on Turkish ground,” Jerusalem Post mentioned Bennett as saying
“The days in which (Iran) funded terror, equips terrorists, trains and sends them, and is left unscathed is over. Now, the one sending (terrorists) pays. We will go anywhere we need to”

Istanbul: A report on Wednesday claimed that Turkish security forces dismantled an Iranian intelligence cell operating in Turkey's Istanbul and detained its members for allegedly planning an attack on Israel.

Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported that Turkish intelligence and security forces raided three houses and a hotel on June 16, seizing weapons and detaining suspects.

There is currently no word on how many suspects were apprehended.

As reported by the agency, Turkish intelligence observed the group that arrived in Istanbul pretending to be tourists, businessmen, and students.

The report added that the Iranian team "included hitmen and consisted of both Iranian and non-Iranian individuals". According to Xinhua news agency, the report further said Iran's team tracked Israeli targets for some time.

One week ago, Israel had warned its citizens in Turkey that they were at risk from Iranian cells after Iran accused it of assassinating the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodai.

Two people on a motorcycle shot and killed Hassan Sayad Khodai while he was driving his car.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had claimed that Israel and Turkey had stopped numerous attempts by terrorists backed by Iran to attack Israelis.

“The operational efforts with the Turkish security forces have borne fruit. In recent days, in a joint Israeli-Turkish effort, we thwarted a number of terrorist attempts and numerous terrorists were arrested on Turkish ground,” Jerusalem Post mentioned Bennett as saying.

He added: “We are continuing to work together with the goal of bringing the situation in Turkey and Israeli tourism back to normal. We have to finish the counterterrorism operations."

“The days in which (Iran) funded terror, equips terrorists, trains and sends them, and is left unscathed is over. Now, the one sending (terrorists) pays. We will go anywhere we need to.”

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