Turkish authorities reportedly detained more than 200 people, including suspected ISIS-linked militants, in a sweeping Tuesday raid in capital Ankara ahead of a July 7-8 NATO summit.

The raid came after Turkish authorities issued detention orders for 241 suspects, 209 of whom were taken into custody, The Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the office of Turkey’s chief prosecutor.

Among the 209 detained, 56 were allegedly ISIS militants, according to the AP. This comes after Turkish authorities said they detained 125 ISIS members in December.

The detention operations occurred just two weeks before a planned NATO summit in Ankara on July 7 that President Donald Trump is expected to attend.

TURKEY’S NATO ROLE UNDER SCRUTINY AMID NEW REPORT ON HAMAS, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TIES

Other militants scooped up were 35 alleged members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front, which a Turkish statement described as “a far‑left group known for armed attacks and assassinations in Turkey,” according to the AP.

The ISIS-combating operations demonstrate the terrorist group’s ongoing activity in the region, showing the group is still functioning despite the U.S. campaign during Trump’s first term to eliminate the group’s caliphate and its control of large swaths of territory in the Middle East.

In recent years, ISIS has spread into the African continent, prompting a strong response from the U.S. In May, Trump authorized a series of strikes in Nigeria to combat the group.

PENTAGON SLASHES NATO COMBAT COMMITMENTS AS TRUMP PUSHES EUROPE TO DEFEND ITSELF

A May 16 strike killed ISIS leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who was the group’s second-in-command globally.

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“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social after the strike. “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”

The group’s renewed activity also includes a call to supporters to make attacks on U.S. soil during the World Cup.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By&nbspEuronews&nbspwith&nbspAFP

Published on
23/06/2026 – 19:59 GMT+2

Two whales were killed off the coast of Iceland overnight Sunday, two days after commercial hunting resumed, local media and animal rights activists reported Monday.

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The kill ends a two-year pause and marks the first catches since 2023.

Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported that two fin whales were killed. The fin whale is the second largest animal on Earth after the blue whale.

Before the vessels set off on Friday, a protester had attached himself to one of the masts in the port of Reykjavik, but climbed down and was escorted away by police.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only three countries that still openly permit whaling, despite international condemnation from the public and animal welfare organisations.

Iceland cancelled its whale hunt over the past two years, partly because economic problems had cut demand and the industry was not deemed profitable enough.

“The first fin whale deaths in Iceland’s hunt this year are devastating,” said Joanna Swabe, European senior public affairs director for animal rights group Humane World for Animals.

“Iceland has killed more than 1,000 fin whales in the past two decades — not only the second largest animal on the planet but also a species classified as globally vulnerable to extinction,” Swabe said in a statement.

Iceland’s government has said it is planning to introduce a bill aimed at banning whaling this autumn.

The International Whaling Commission banned the commercial killing of whales in 1986 amid alarm at the declining stock of the marine mammals.

Iceland’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has recommended that no more than 150 fin whales are caught in the 2026 season.

That represents a 28-percent drop on the annual quota it recommended for the period 2018–2025, it said.

The institute has set an annual catch of 168 animals for the minke whale hunt this year, a 23-percent drop on 2018-2025.