On February 3, 2025, Amsterdam-based Firat News Agency (ANF), which focuses on Kurdish issues, reported that on December 23, 2024, ISIS leaders had met in Ankara to organize an attack on Kurdish positions in northeast Syria. The article reports that "according to information obtained from a source who wanted to remain secret for security reasons, a critical ISIS meeting was held in Ankara at the end of 2024. It is understood that the majority of ISIS members who attended the meeting were Iraqi and from the Tal Afar district of Mosul."
The article names some of the attendants: "The meeting was attended by ISIS Ankara Director and Emir Talat Yunus Muhammed El-Şero, Abdulhekim Şêxo Abdulaziz El-Şêxo, Imad Khalid Velid El-Izdo El-Rawi, Abdulhani Hasan Muhammed El-Silo, Raid Ismail Abbas El-Nasır El-Heyal." It says that "the purpose of this meeting was to plan an attack on the regions controlled by the SDF forces and the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria." An ISIS official reportedly "asked those attending the meeting to send 10 men under his command to Syria, to secure from the Turkish state their monthly salaries of $800, and for the needs of their families to be met."[1]
On February 5, 2025, journalist Bilal Tinar reported in the Yüksekova Halkın Sesi online news outlet that member of parliament Vezir Coşkun Parlak, who since 2023 has represented a district in the province of Hakkari as part of the Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi (DEM) party, had submitted a parliamentary question to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya regarding the reported ISIS meeting in Ankara.[2]
Member of Parliament Vezir Parlak (left), and journalist Bilal Tinar.
Following is a translation of Tinar's report of Parlak's statement and questions:
"According To News Reports, ISIS Leaders, Mostly Of Iraqi Descent, Met In Ankara On December 23, 2024, And A Decision Was Made At This Meeting To Attack The Cities In Syria's Desert Region – Raqqa, Deir Al-Zour, And Al-Hasakah"
"'According to news reports, ISIS leaders, mostly of Iraqi descent, met in Ankara on December 23, 2024, and a decision was made at this meeting to attack the cities in Syria's desert region – Raqqa, Deir Al-Zour, and Al-Hasakah. It was reported that the meeting was held at the home of ISIS official Ali Serhan Süleyman Al-Mishko and that among its attendants were the ISIS emirs for Mosul, Anbar, and Saladin [governorates of Iraq].
"'According to the information in the press, the purpose of this meeting was to plan an attack on territory under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Separately at the meeting, it was said that action should be taken against the AANES forces in the aforementioned territories, and that it would be necessary to seize all the oil wells in AANES-controlled territory.'"
"An ISIS Military Council Official Had Asked Every Emir To Send 10 Fighters To Syria [And] Guaranteed That These People Would Be Paid Salaries"
"'Among the information was the news report was [the following]: At the meeting, an ISIS Military Council official had asked every emir to send 10 fighters to Syria, guaranteed that these people would be paid salaries, and emphasized that the families of ISIS members in Turkey needed to be supported.
"'The military plans made at the beginning included Al-Hasakah, which neighbors Shingal [i.e., Sinjar], where Yazidis are concentrated in Iraq. This situation creates a new danger of a massacre for the Yazidis of Shingal, who in 2014 faced genocide by ISIS. The 2014 Shingal Massacre is defined as a Yazidi genocide by the United Nations.'"
"Public Opinion Reflects Claims That Some Formal Offices Of Turkey Knew Of The Meeting Of ISIS Leaders In Ankara"
"'Public opinion reflects claims that some formal offices of Turkey knew of the meeting of ISIS leaders in Ankara.'
"Parlak asked Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya to answer the following questions:
"'1. Is it true that there was a meeting of ISIS leaders in Ankara on December 23, 2024?
"'2. If the information regarding the meeting and the names and positions in the organizations of the attendants are clear, as was reported in the press, why has no [police] operation been executed against so many high-level ISIS officials?
"'3. There are serious claims among public opinion concerning how, to take advantage of the power vacuum in Syria after December 8, ISIS has again entered a process of organizing and activity, and executed many types of activities in Turkey for this purpose as well. Is any information and/or intelligence that has reached your ministry regarding these claims available?
"'4. From 2014 to today, how many investigations have been opened into people connected to ISIS, how many people have been arrested, how many have been convicted, and how many have been punished?
"'5. From 2014 to today, how many of the people who have been prosecuted as a result of [connections to] ISIS have been citizens of the Republic of Turkey and how many are foreign nationals? What is the distribution of countries among those who are foreign nationals?
"'6. Since 2016, how many military operations has Turkey executed against ISIS?
"'7. Since 2015, how many attacks has ISIS executed inside Turkey? How many people were killed and wounded in these attacks?'"
