https://nordicmonitor.com/2021/01/t...sis-militants-from-russia-china-central-asia/
Foreign fighters for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) apparently took refuge in a madrasa located in a conservative neighborhood of Istanbul, stronghold of the ruling Islamists and nationalists in the Turkish government, and used the religious school as a hub to meet others, map out their routes to Syria and discuss strategies, documents obtained by Nordic Monitor have revealed.
An indictment and ensuing trial of an ISIS cell in Turkey have uncovered how jihadists from Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and China’s Xinjiang region were trained in a madrasa in Istanbul’s Sultanbeyli district where the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) has a strong support base. The case, which was initiated in October 2016, involves half a dozen foreign fighters who had operated in and out of Istanbul, with some traveling to the Turkish-Syrian border. Most were released before the trial started, paving the way for some to go underground as fugitives. When asked by the court to locate suspects who were on the run, the Turkish intelligence agency claimed ignorance of their whereabouts.
Turkish madrasa in Istanbul functioned as springboard for ISIS militants from Russia, China, Central Asia
The testimony of suspects during the hearings shed light on how jihadists networked in Turkey and got their indoctrination at a legally operating madrasa in Istanbul before joining ISIS in Syria. The case suggested Turkish authorities knew the movements of ISIS long before the investigating prosecutor issued detention warrants but decided to turn a blind eye to their activities until the Turkish army entered Syria and faced resistance from armed ISIS groups.
A suspect named Bunyod Babanazarov (aka Muslim), a 31-year-old Uzbek national, told the court on May 9, 2017 that he came to Turkey in May 2016 to attend Quran school and that he was directed to a madrasa in Sultanbeyli. He studied at the madrasa, İhlas İlim, for three months and later moved to an apartment in Pendik with other suspects. He said he was a sports teacher.
Babanazarov was involved in the recruitment of new militants, according to the indictment. He called for war in a message posted on Telegram, which he claimed he wrote in Uzbekistan before traveling to Turkey. He said in court he did not mean war literally but rather fighting one’s inner evil.
The ISIS cell had long been known to Turkish intelligence, which was monitoring the movements of ISIS but did not act until ISIS militants Babanazarov and Azizjon Bekraev, a 28-year-old Uzbek national, crossed into Turkey from Syria and settled in Istanbul, to carry out a terrorist attack. Babanazarov enlisted himself as a suicide bomber with ISIS leaders, according to the intelligence report in Istanbul Police Department records. On October 22, 2016 police raided two safe houses maintained by ISIS and detained suspects. Some were formally arrested after a month-long detention, while others were released.
Both Babanazarov and Bekraev attended the same madrasa in Sultanbeyli and lived in the same safe house after moving out of the madrasa. Bekraev, who was also known by the assumed name of Zubeyr and worked in construction, ran logistics for ISIS and provided accommodation for militants. Police found a stash of ISIS videos and pictures on his cell phone. He came to Turkey illegally some time in 2015 and trained at the madrasa in Sultanbeyli for two years.,,,
Foreign fighters for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) apparently took refuge in a madrasa located in a conservative neighborhood of Istanbul, stronghold of the ruling Islamists and nationalists in the Turkish government, and used the religious school as a hub to meet others, map out their routes to Syria and discuss strategies, documents obtained by Nordic Monitor have revealed.
An indictment and ensuing trial of an ISIS cell in Turkey have uncovered how jihadists from Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and China’s Xinjiang region were trained in a madrasa in Istanbul’s Sultanbeyli district where the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) has a strong support base. The case, which was initiated in October 2016, involves half a dozen foreign fighters who had operated in and out of Istanbul, with some traveling to the Turkish-Syrian border. Most were released before the trial started, paving the way for some to go underground as fugitives. When asked by the court to locate suspects who were on the run, the Turkish intelligence agency claimed ignorance of their whereabouts.
Turkish madrasa in Istanbul functioned as springboard for ISIS militants from Russia, China, Central Asia
The testimony of suspects during the hearings shed light on how jihadists networked in Turkey and got their indoctrination at a legally operating madrasa in Istanbul before joining ISIS in Syria. The case suggested Turkish authorities knew the movements of ISIS long before the investigating prosecutor issued detention warrants but decided to turn a blind eye to their activities until the Turkish army entered Syria and faced resistance from armed ISIS groups.
A suspect named Bunyod Babanazarov (aka Muslim), a 31-year-old Uzbek national, told the court on May 9, 2017 that he came to Turkey in May 2016 to attend Quran school and that he was directed to a madrasa in Sultanbeyli. He studied at the madrasa, İhlas İlim, for three months and later moved to an apartment in Pendik with other suspects. He said he was a sports teacher.
Babanazarov was involved in the recruitment of new militants, according to the indictment. He called for war in a message posted on Telegram, which he claimed he wrote in Uzbekistan before traveling to Turkey. He said in court he did not mean war literally but rather fighting one’s inner evil.
The ISIS cell had long been known to Turkish intelligence, which was monitoring the movements of ISIS but did not act until ISIS militants Babanazarov and Azizjon Bekraev, a 28-year-old Uzbek national, crossed into Turkey from Syria and settled in Istanbul, to carry out a terrorist attack. Babanazarov enlisted himself as a suicide bomber with ISIS leaders, according to the intelligence report in Istanbul Police Department records. On October 22, 2016 police raided two safe houses maintained by ISIS and detained suspects. Some were formally arrested after a month-long detention, while others were released.
Both Babanazarov and Bekraev attended the same madrasa in Sultanbeyli and lived in the same safe house after moving out of the madrasa. Bekraev, who was also known by the assumed name of Zubeyr and worked in construction, ran logistics for ISIS and provided accommodation for militants. Police found a stash of ISIS videos and pictures on his cell phone. He came to Turkey illegally some time in 2015 and trained at the madrasa in Sultanbeyli for two years.,,,
