Talip Güler, codenamed “Abdüsselam Türki,” was captured in Syria and brought to the country by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), security sources said on Monday.

Güler was the brother of Kasım Güler, another top Daesh figure and was part of the group’s network in Türkiye known as “Farouk Office” or Maktab Al-Faruq.” He was on the Interior Ministry’s most wanted list. Kasım Güler himself was captured in another MIT operation in 2021 and brought to Türkiye.

Security sources said Güler illegally crossed into Syria in January 2014, at the height of the civil war in the country where Daesh thrived. He coordinated the activities of the group alongside his elder brother. After apprehending elder Güler, MIT closed in on Talip Güler, running surveillance on his every step, sources said.

Güler was cooperative with authorities after he was taken to Türkiye and elaborated on how he was “radicalized,” how he sneaked into Syria and joined the terrorist group and his actions for Daesh in cooperation with his brother.

Last month, MIT also apprehended Ahmet Kazancı, another top Daesh figure, as he was planning to infiltrate Türkiye.

Daesh remains a threat to Türkiye, which lost dozens of citizens in attacks by the group that thrived in its southern neighbors, Iraq and Syria.

Since the 2019 collapse of the self-proclaimed “caliphate,” some suspected Daesh members have settled in Türkiye, operating the so-called Khorasan Province (Daesh-K) network, which looks for “new methods” and recruits more foreign nationals for its activities after constant counterterrorism operations became a “challenge,” according to Turkish security sources.

MIT thwarted the terrorist group’s efforts for recruitment, obtaining funds and logistics support after its latest operation in the aftermath of a church shooting in Istanbul in January 2024.

Türkiye was one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group in 2013 and carried out a steady stream of operations to thwart the group, rounding up hundreds of suspects over the past few years. Operations prevented plots by Daesh to attack places of worship in Türkiye. Terrorists from Daesh and other groups, such as the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, rely on a network of members and supporters in Türkiye. Turkish authorities have ordered the freezing of millions of lira worth of assets since 2013 to crack down on terrorism financiers in line with U.N. sanctions.

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Addressing a symposium in Ankara on Monday, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said the state’s institutions learned their lessons from the “painful experience” that was the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by military infiltrators of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).

The symposium organized by Turkish think-tank, the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), brought together academics, researchers, jurists and journalists. The two-session symposium focused on legal, political and social dimensions of the coup attempt, how it is remembered in collective memory and the transformation of Türkiye during and after the coup attempt.

Yılmaz was deputy chair of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) at the time of the coup attempt. He told the symposium that 10 years that followed the coup attempt have been an era of comprehensive restructuring. “Our institutions achieved a stronger capacity that can respond to a shifting security environment and new threats (after the coup attempt),” Yılmaz stated.

He emphasized the importance of “assessing major incidents correctly” that could be translated into a social conscience. “It is as important to explain it correctly as remembering July 15,” he said.

Yılmaz stated that although FETÖ was “gone,” it was essential to remain alert against similar networks and Türkiye still had a responsibility to fight the terrorist group internationally.

He noted how Türkiye transformed, especially in terms of security, after the attempt.

“In my opinion, the execution of cross-border operations (against terrorist groups) immediately after the coup attempt is one of the best examples of this. Some Western circles back then were putting forward arguments like ‘FETÖ members are being purged, the institutions have weakened.’ On the contrary, with the purge of FETÖ members, many of our institutions, particularly our army, began to fulfill their true duties in a much more effective manner,” Yılmaz said.

“With the reforms implemented under the leadership of our President, important steps have been taken in many areas, from security to public administration, and from intelligence to the judiciary. Coordination among our institutions has strengthened, decision-making processes have accelerated, and our state’s maneuverability during moments of crisis has significantly increased. The institutional resilience we possess today is the product not only of the steps taken in the wake of July 15 but also of a strong vision that shapes our state experience in line with future needs,” he added.

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A delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) is scheduled to meet Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and senior ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official Efkan Ala on Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts surrounding Türkiye’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative.

The delegation, consisting of DEM Party lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, is expected to discuss legal steps that could support the initiative, including a framework law that lawmakers say may be submitted to parliament later this month.

The meetings will focus on the legal basis for the process and possible legislative measures aimed at facilitating the disarmament of members of the PKK, which Türkiye, the United States and the European Union classify as a terrorist group.

Kurtulmuş has previously said the planned legislation would be a temporary and narrowly tailored law applying only to members of the dissolved terrorist group who surrender their weapons and publicly renounce organizational activities within a specified period.

“The law will be exclusive and temporary. It will not remain in force indefinitely,” Kurtulmuş said in earlier remarks, adding that parliament could begin considering the legislation in July.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also expressed support for the initiative, saying its success would open “a new chapter” for Türkiye both domestically and internationally.

DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları has called for swift progress on the legislation, urging parliament to use July effectively to finalize the framework law and respond to public expectations.

The planned meetings come as Ankara continues consultations with political parties over the legal framework of the initiative. Turkish officials have presented the process as part of broader efforts to permanently end terrorism and strengthen domestic stability.

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Türkiye criticized the European Union on Monday following the European Commission’s appointment of a new special representative for the island of Cyprus, accusing the bloc of maintaining a biased approach to the decades-old dispute.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said Ankara views the appointment as an internal matter of the European Union, as it has with previous appointments.

However, Keçeli argued that the EU lost its neutrality on the Cyprus issue when it admitted the Greek Cypriot administration as a member in 2004 despite its rejection of the U.N.-backed Annan Plan.

He also accused EU institutions, including the European Parliament, of continuing with a one-sided approach to the issue.

Keçeli said Ankara expects the newly appointed envoy to work toward changing the EU’s position and to recognize that a lasting settlement can only be achieved through negotiations between “two sovereignly equal states” based on the realities on the island.

Türkiye supports a two-state solution for the island, while the United Nations continues to back a federal settlement framework.

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A neocon turned staunch supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham was known for his hawkish stance on relations with Türkiye, his country’s main ally in NATO. This stand changed at times, but the veteran U.S. senator who passed away on Saturday after a brief, sudden illness, according to a statement by his office, will be remembered for his rhetoric opposing Türkiye’s interests at every turn.

Some hardline Turkish media outlets reported his death as the demise of “an enemy of Turks,” while others were more restrained, though they reminded readers of Graham’s checkered past when it came to U.S. foreign policy on Türkiye.

Being on good terms with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who described him as the greatest friend of Israel) could be sufficient for Türkiye to doubt his apparently softening stance toward the country in his last days. Netanyahu is among the most unloved figures in Türkiye nowadays due to his genocidal campaign against Palestinians. Still, Graham had multiple opportunities to meet Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during his four tenures in Washington, D.C. Indeed, his last overseas visit was to Ankara for the NATO summit, which also marked Trump’s inaugural presidential visit to the Turkish capital.

The South Carolina senator was an influential political figure, and at one point, Türkiye tried to change his mind about the country, especially after he championed sanctions against Ankara. In 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan even had Graham seated next to him as they attended a classical music concert in Ankara in January 2019. The two men met again in 2022 when Erdoğan visited New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. In his remarks to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit, where he accompanied Trump, Graham demonstrated that he had changed his mind regarding the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the country and said he hoped the Senate would approve it while he branded Türkiye as an important ally.

Before this apparent U-turn, Graham remained a steadfast opponent of Türkiye in Congress, particularly regarding Türkiye’s cross-border operations in neighboring Syria in the Assad era. Graham’s main concern was protecting “Kurds” in Syria, a definition he broadly used for the terrorist group YPG. When Türkiye launched operations against terrorists who threatened Turkish border towns with attacks, Graham stepped up his anti-Turkish rhetoric. Last January, Graham was also behind the Save the Kurds Act, which he introduced against what he called “attacks” on the YPG by the new Syrian administration. Graham also long stood for his opposition to Türkiye’s acquisition of S-400 air defense systems from Russia and repeatedly warned against the sale of U.S. weapons to Türkiye.

Graham threatened sanctions against Türkiye and, at one point, even called for Ankara’s suspension from NATO if it continues targeting the YPG and co-sponsored legislation for sanctions on Turkish officials.

When Türkiye turned to the acquisition of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia amid a lack of U.S. military support, Graham voiced opposition and in 2019, suggested the White House immediately implement sanctions if the S-400 deployment proceeds. His proposal evolved into the implementation of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and Türkiye’s removal from the multinational F-35 program. It took seven years to undo the damage this left on Türkiye, and even so, this was partial. U.S. President Donald Trump was enthusiastic about relations with Türkiye, as his remarks in Ankara before and after the NATO summit indicated, and pledged to work to reverse the sanctions, as well as to approve the sale of fighter jets. The progress is expected to also facilitate the sale of engines for Türkiye’s locally made Kaan fighter jet. All this happened before the very eyes of Graham at the heart of Ankara as the senator who long stood his ground against Türkiye appeared to finally relent to Trump’s decision to improve ties with Türkiye, which had deteriorated during his first tenure and the entire tenure of Joe Biden.

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Justice Minister Akın Gürlek emphasized that the death of its ringleader Fetullah Gülen was not an end for Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the group was trying to cover up its tracks while attempting to revive, reinvent itself through front companies and social media groups while kept its financial network alive.

Gürlek spoke to the Sabah newspaper ahead of the 10th anniversary of July 15 coup attempt which was foiled at the cost of more than 250 civilian lives. Gürlek, who was appointed as justice minister in February, was a judge in Istanbul at the time of the coup attempt. During his pre-ministry career, Gürlek handled several FETÖ-related cases.

The minister told Sabah that the fight against FETÖ was not simply a criminal proceeding but a “Great Cleansing of the State,” referring to the terrorist group’s widespread infiltration into state agencies. FETÖ is accused of infiltrating its members into the judiciary, law enforcement, the army and other key institutions, something that facilitated its 2016 attempt. Before the 2016 coup attempt, authorities have been working on the expulsion of FETÖ-linked people working in the state institutions and managed to weed out hundreds. This process sped up after the coup attempt, which killed 252 people and injured 2,740 others.

Resistance against the coup was unprecedented in the history of modern Türkiye, which was stained with multiple coups. Gürlek defines it as one of the most glorious days for the Turkish nation. “People’s unity reflected the words of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: ‘I recognize no authority above the will of the nation,’” Gürlek says.

Unlike other terrorist groups, which often resort solely to terror attacks like bombings, FETÖ cultivated a sinister plot to take over the state over decades, skillfully having its infiltrators blending with ordinary people. Gürlek terms it as “next-generation espionage network that uses state’s power against state itself.” “They did not turn to arming themselves and openly declaring a fight against (Türkiye). Instead, they created a complex network benefiting from the state’s own power. We are talking about a network exploiting religious values, creating secret cells unaware of each other and having members leading double lives to hide their loyalty to the group,” he said.

Gürlek noted that up until July 15, 2016, the group did not disclose how it can turn into an armed force. “They are a network of professionals who posed as legitimate people. Coupled with their international network, it is safe to say that they are both a terrorist group and an espionage network,” he said.

The minister stated that the October 2024 death of FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen “definitely does not mean that the threat is gone.” “As our president earlier said, FETÖ is not simply a terrorist group devoted to its leader. It is the tentacles of a global (threat). Although our state dealt a major blow to this sinister network, it still seeks to keep itself alive with its fugitive members abroad. Currently, they are working to revive their networks and financial sources. Our assessment is that they are trying to establish new contacts, especially through commercial activities. They set up front companies, and they hide themselves among other social groups. Those abroad cooperate with anti-Turkish lobbies and carry out a campaign of disinformation online. ‘Crypto’ members of the group remain that way and are seeking to find secret financial resources,” he warned.

Gürlek also said that they would remain vigilant till “the full cleaning.” “We are committed to fight against FETÖ and we will not rest,” he said.

Gürlek pointed out that a total of 1,065 operations were carried out against FETÖ by security forces in the first six months of 2026 and 2,451 suspects were detained. He stated that since FETÖ was designed as a terror threat shortly after its first coup attempts in 2013, authorities launched criminal proceedings against 720,338 people and 636,934 among them were either convicted or acquitted. He noted that 127,102 suspects, among them were convicted of various crimes. He noted that investigations and trials were still underway for another 83,404 suspects in investigations focused on FETÖ.

Separately, Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate, announced on Sunday that they prevented access to 2,702 social media accounts linked to FETÖ in the past month. In a social media post, Duran said that the directorate was in coordination with relevant agencies for comprehensive digital surveillance and analysis against FETÖ.

“The digital domain is an integral part of our national security. Under no circumstances will terrorist groups be allowed to use social media and digital platforms for propaganda, recruitment, financing, disinformation, or psychological operations. We will continue to closely monitor the digital ecosystem in coordination with all relevant institutions, swiftly identify and take the necessary measures against any threats targeting our national security, and ensure that our citizens have access to accurate information to counter disinformation,” he said.

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