Turkey has apprehended 48 suspects associated with the Islamic State, the group responsible for the January 28 attack on the Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul, announced Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya today. Yerlikaya conveyed on platform “X” that the arrests primarily targeted individuals connected to the perpetrators of the January 28 church attack, which resulted in one fatality, as well as those in contact with conflict zones.

The operation, overseen by the Istanbul and Ankara police departments in collaboration with the General Intelligence Directorate and the Anti-Terrorism Department, led to the arrest of 30 suspects believed to be involved in the Santa Maria church attack by Istanbul’s anti-terrorism unit, with an additional 18 individuals linked to ISIS detained by the Ankara police department, as reported by Turkish media outlets.

The ISIS terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the armed assault on the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul’s Sariye district on January 28, resulting in the death of a 52-year-old man.