Three policemen and six Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants were killed in a gunfight sparked by a raid on a house south of Istanbul launched at 0200 today.
Eight other officers and a security guard were wounded in the incident in Elmali district of Yalova Province, on the Sea of Marmara.
Sporadic exchanges of fire continued for nearly eight hours, with anti-terrorism commandos dispatched to reinforce police.
The slain militants were Turkish citizens.
Five women and six children were brought out of the house alive.
The raid was part of a major operation against ISIS members and supporters today in which 108 addresses in 15 provinces were targeted.
Counter-terrorism officers of the Istanbul police on Thursday arrested 115 suspected ISIS members and supporters in response to calls by the group for attacks on non-Muslims attending Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Firearms, ammunition and incriminating documents were seized in simultaneous raids on 124 locations.
Taking no chances, Turkish authorities continue to regularly arrest Islamic terrorist suspects and their supporters.
Today’s casualties among police were unusual, however.
ISIS terrorism plots in Turkey and the West have become less common since the group suffered a complete military defeat in Iraq and Syria in the late 2010s.
But Turkey is haunted by an ISIS shooting attack at 0115 on 1 January 2017 that killed 39 people and injured 70 in an attack on the trendy Reina nightclub in the Ortakoy district of the European part of Istanbul. At least 25 of the dead were foreigners, mostly from nearby Arab countries.
The massacre was claimed by ISIS, which said it targeted a “pagan feast” in retaliation for Turkey’s shedding of Muslim blood in Syria.
The police presence on the streets was extremely heavy for New Year celebrations. But there was only one officer guarding the entrance to the Reina, and he was quickly dispatched by the lone assailant, who arrived in a taxi and removed from its trunk a case containing an AK-47. Once inside the club, he fired approximately 180 rounds at the more than 600 revelers for seven minutes before removing his coat, dropping his weapon, and making good his escape by blending into the panicked crowd. Each time he reloaded, he reportedly threw stun grenades.
The assailant, a 33-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan, was captured on 17 January 2017 in an apartment in the Esenyurt district in the European portion of Istanbul, 19 miles from the Reina nightclub.
In its claim of credit, ISIS said the gunman was acting “in response to the orders” of its then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. His competent execution made clear that he was a trained terrorist, and the astute target selection indicated that he was directed by senior ISIS operatives.
Westerners remain prime targets for ISIS.
Suicide-bombings and mass shootings are the most likely modes of organized Islamic terrorist attack in Turkey, but killings and kidnappings of individual Westerners also are possible.
Untrained ISIS supporters could stage primitive attacks against Westerners with weapons at hand, such as knives and vehicles.
Context is important when considering terrorism risks. Turkish security forces are competent and the country is full of people of various appearances and backgrounds, with 12 million people living in Istanbul alone. Corporate travelers do not stand out, all the more so if they avoid tourist attractions and move about inconspicuously.
Personnel may undertake routine travel to portions of Turkey outside the heavily ethnic Kurdish southeast and areas near the Syrian border.
Due to terrorism risks, personnel should be alert to their surroundings constantly. Those on the ground for more than a few days should be alert for surveillances and alter patterns and times of movement.
Personnel should minimize their exposure to tourist attractions, Christian and Jewish sites, and Western and Israeli diplomatic facilities.
Only hotels with stout, redundant security measures should be patronized. Multiple hotels have competent security programs, but the Hilton Bosporus in Istanbul and the Ankara Hilton in the capital stand out because of their ample setbacks.
Taksim Square in Istanbul and Kizalay Square in Ankara should be bypassed to the extent practical.
Personnel should pass as quickly as possible through areas of airports open to the public. Public transportation is best avoided.
Multinationals, especially those near landmarks, should keep bomb defenses and access controls up to spec.
