Authorities expose ISIL digital recruitment web in İzmir attack probe
İZMİR
A recent investigation has revealed that the terrorist organization ISIL has built a clandestine digital network aimed at recruiting children as young as 14 through encrypted communication platforms.
The network came to light after a 16-year-old, identified by the initials E.B., carried out an armed attack on a police station in the western province of İzmir’s Balçova district on Sept. 8, killing three police officers and injuring two others.
According to security sources, following the attack, counterterrorism units traced links between the assailant and ISIL-affiliated operatives active online.
The investigation uncovered that the group had been using encrypted chat applications such as RocketChat and Techhaven to indoctrinate minors and provide them with weapons and explosives training via Telegram.
Just a day after the İzmir incident, a 15-year-old identified as A.Y.G. was detained in an anti-terror operation in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district.
Digital forensics revealed that the suspect, a Turkish national, had been communicating with ISIL supporters through encrypted platforms including RocketChat, Techhaven and Element.
Files found on his devices contained manuals on bomb and Molotov cocktail making, firearm assembly and combat training materials. A.Y.G. was later arrested.
Investigations by the Istanbul Counterterrorism Department further revealed that a similar attack had been prevented two months earlier in Maltepe.
Authorities detained a 14-year-old boy, D.R., a Turkmen national living in Türkiye, who had also been in contact with ISIL members via encrypted apps. Digital analysis found drone operation guides, assassination and bombing tutorials and folders labeled “attack tactics.” D.R. was placed under house arrest.
Authorities confirmed that the İzmir attacker, E.B., had been radicalized through the same online platforms and maintained active contact with ISIL-linked individuals before the attack.
According to Interior Ministry data, during the first nine months of this year, 1,760 operations were conducted against ISIL across Türkiye, resulting in 3,686 detentions and 784 arrests.
