Evaluation Note / Hilmi Demir

On January 28, 2024, masked attackers killed one person at the Santa Maria Church in Sarıyer, Istanbul. The masked assailants claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of ISIS through the Amaq News Agency, the official propaganda outlet of the group. According to Amaq, ISIS has now launched its first strike on Turkish territory since 2017.

Below is my translation of the Türkiye Wilaya statement:

"In Istanbul, Türkiye, the Khalifa soldiers carried out an attack on a church, resulting in the killing of a Christian and the injury of another.

Wilaya of Türkiye, Sunday, 16 Rajab 445 AH.

By the grace of Almighty Allah, a covert detachment of the Caliphate soldiers was present in the city of Istanbul. They launched an armed attack with pistols on a gathering of idolatrous rituals held by infidel Christians in a church in the Büyükdere neighborhood. This led to the killing of a Christian and the injury of at least one person. Praise and thanks are due to Allah."

You may read evaluation note from here.