Daesh operative arrested in Pakistan-Turkiye joint intelligence operation: report

ISLAMABAD: A senior Daesh operative was captured during a Pakistan-Turkiye joint intelligence operation conducted at a border area connecting Afghanistan, a Turkish news agency reported citing security sources on Sunday.

The arrested Daesh operative was identified as Ozgur Altun, whose codename is “Abu Yasir Al Turki”. Altun was wanted to Turkiye for directing plots targeting concert venues and other civilian sites in Turkiye and across Europe, according to the report.

It added that the operative was the highest-ranking Turkish member of Daesh and played a key role in the militant group’s media and logistics networks.

Turkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had tracked Altun’s activities and uncovered that he was coordinating the movement of Daesh fighters from Europe and Central Asia to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

After sharing the information with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, a precision operation jointly conducted by MIT and ISI led to Altun’s capture at the border. He was later deported to Turkiye for further investigation, the report stated.

Pakistan and Turkiye have close and brotherly ties and both sides always showed resolve to deepen multifaceted cooperation.

In a recent engagement between top leadership, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to continue working closely for regional peace, sustainable development, and the shared prosperity of their peoples. The engagement reaffirmed the deep-rooted, historic, and brotherly ties between Pakistan and Turkiye, anchored in shared values, mutual respect, and a common vision for progress and prosperity.

Pakistan has been fighting the terrorism for decades and always cooperated and promoted to eliminate the menace on regional and international levels. In March, US President Donald Trump, in a rare public gesture of appreciation, thanked Pakistan for assisting the arrest of Daesh-K commander Shareefullah - the person responsible for killing 13 US service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The 2021 Abbey Gate bombing killed 13 US service members and approximately 170 Afghan civilians during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The militant Daesh group had claimed responsibility for the killings.