MESOP NEWS : 3,000 in Turkey Linked to IS

ISTANBUL (AFP) – 19 Jan 2015 – Around 3,000 people in Turkey are believed to be linked to the Islamic State group, a Turkish intelligence report said on Saturday, warning of possible attacks by extremists.The report called for enhanced surveillance of the 3,000 people, including identifying their rank within the extremist group or whether they were active within it, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Saturday.

A “red alert” had also been sent to security units warning of possible attacks on the embassies of Western countries by IS militants following last week’s deadly attacks in France, the report said. Security at the diplomatic missions had been increased to the maximum level, the report said, adding that NATO facilities and Western nationals were also potential targets.And it warned of possible bomb attacks “anywhere and anytime” in Turkey by “sleeping cells.” Most of the vehicles stolen in Turkey ended up in the hands of IS men, it said, warning that they could be used in car bomb attacks. A female suicide bomber killed herself and a policeman last week in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district, home to the city’s greatest concentration of historical monuments. Authorities have so far refrained from naming the bomber but reports in Turkey and Russia on Friday identified her as Diana Ramazanova, 18, from Dagestan. She was said to have been the widow of a Norwegian jihadi who died fighting for IS in Syria.