• About
  • Contact
  • News Tips
Friday, January 15, 2021
  • Login
Nordic Monitor
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result
Home EditorsPick

US Defense Intelligence Agency says Turkey, Qatar supported al-Nusra Front

Abdullah Bozkurt by Abdullah Bozkurt
January 9, 2021
US intelligence says 90 pct of all foreign fighters joined Syria battle from Turkey
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare On TelegramShare On Whatsapp

Abdullah Bozkurt

 

Turkey and Qatar likely provided support to Syrian al-Qaeda group Jabhat al-Nusra, or the al-Nusra Front, the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded in 2016.

According to a classified DIA report, a copy of which was seen by Nordic Monitor, it was concluded that the al-Nusra Front “probably received logistical, financial and material assistance from the elements of the Turkish and Qatari governments.” The report, dated June 2, 2016, provided a detailed account of the status of major combatants in Syria with al-Nusra boasting as many as 10,400 fighters due to increased recruitment.

The DIA underlined that al-Nusra maintained a supply of equipment and a robust facilitation network to sustain supplies, ammunition and weapons flows. It drew attention to its cooperation with opposition groups and how it adapted to challenges to participate in key battles against the Syrian regime.

The agency described al-Nusra as “one of the most effective antiregime forces because of its persistence and ability to adapt to the changing operating environment.” It noted that al-Nusra regularly cooperated with other opposition groups, including ones that were party to the Cessation of Hostilities agreement. In February 2016 al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) agreed to a six-month truce in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, highlighting their willingness to cooperate at the tactical level, the report pointed out.

The report was prepared by DIA’s Middle East/Africa Center and Defense Combating Terrorism Center.

 

DIA_Nusra_Turkey_Qatar

 

In contrast the fighting force of ISIS recorded an approximately 20 percent decrease because of airstrikes and battlefield losses. Still, ISIS was estimated to have between 5,200 to 10,400 fighters. ISIS continued to suffer from declining tax revenue and reduced access to the Turkish border, which has restricted ISIS’s access to resources.

A 2014 al-Qaeda investigation in Turkey had revealed how Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) enlisted veteran al-Qaeda figure Ibrahim Şen in connecting with al-Qaeda groups in Syria. Şen, a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist, was detained in Pakistan over al-Qaeda links and transferred to Guantanamo, where he was kept until 2005, before US officials decided to turn him over to Turkey. According to the Turkish investigation file, he had been working with MİT since the Syrian crisis erupted in 2011. Apparently due to political cover from the government and a secret contract with MİT, Şen was saved from legal troubles. He was arrested in January 2014 and indicted in October 2014 but let go at the first hearing of the trial in October 2014. He was again arrested in 2018.

The government dropped the 2014 investigation and sacked police chiefs, prosecutors and judges who were involved in the investigation, prosecution and trial of Şen and his associates. Wiretaps obtained by prosecutors under court order exposed Şen’s links to the Turkish intelligence agency. Investigators believed that Şen used several front NGOs including the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı, or IHH) to conceal illegal shipments to jihadists in Syria. Three people identified by the police as partners of Şen in smuggling goods to Syria were Ömer Faruk Aksebzeci (who worked out of the IHH Kayseri branch); Recep Çamdalı (a member of the IHH in the Kayseri branch); and İbrahim Halil İlgi (who worked out of the Kilis IHH branch). The transcripts of wiretaps between Şen and these operatives showed how they planned to use ambulances to transport goods to jihadists when the governor prohibited pickup trucks from crossing into Syria.

Şen’s brother Abdulkadir was also listed as a suspect in the al-Qaeda case but was freed as well. He is known to be the author of books that led many young people in Turkey to radicalize.

Abdullah Bozkurt

Abdullah Bozkurt

[email protected]

Next Post
OSCE report criticizes Turkey over debate on death penalty

OSCE report criticizes Turkey over debate on death penalty

Please login to join discussion
Donate

Follow Us

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

January 13, 2021
Turkish President Erdogan’s bodyguard, wanted by the US, engaged in covert intelligence ops in Libya

Turkish President Erdogan’s bodyguard, wanted by the US, engaged in covert intelligence ops in Libya

January 10, 2021
Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

January 15, 2021
Turkish real estate agent in capital city embassy neighborhood investigated over espionage for Iran

Turkish real estate agent in capital city embassy neighborhood investigated over espionage for Iran

January 11, 2021
Turkey has a plan for the invasion of Greece, secret documents reveal

Turkey has a plan for the invasion of Greece, secret documents reveal

82
Turkish intelligence agent who runs secret ops in Libya executed false flag coup bid in 2016

Turkish intelligence agent who runs secret ops in Libya executed false flag coup bid in 2016

22
Turkish intelligence operations in Greece exposed in secret documents

Turkish intelligence operations in Greece exposed in secret documents

17
Turkish spy agency MIT involved in intelligence gathering in Australia, targeting gov’t critics

More secret documents confirming vast Turkish espionage activities in Greece uncovered

15
Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

January 15, 2021
Turkey tells UN that drug traffickers were involved in kidnapping of Habib Chaab by Iranian intelligence

Turkey tells UN that drug traffickers were involved in kidnapping of Habib Chaab by Iranian intelligence

January 14, 2021
IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

January 13, 2021
Tension between Turkey and the UAE reaches new peak with retaliatory moves

Turkish diplomats profiled Erdoğan critics in Baltic countries

January 12, 2021

Recommended

Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

January 15, 2021
Turkey tells UN that drug traffickers were involved in kidnapping of Habib Chaab by Iranian intelligence

Turkey tells UN that drug traffickers were involved in kidnapping of Habib Chaab by Iranian intelligence

January 14, 2021
IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

January 13, 2021
Tension between Turkey and the UAE reaches new peak with retaliatory moves

Turkish diplomats profiled Erdoğan critics in Baltic countries

January 12, 2021

Nordic Monitor

Nordic Monitor is a news web site and tracking site that is run by the Stockholm-based Nordic Research and Monitoring Network. It covers religious, ideological and ethnic extremist movements and radical groups, with a special focus on Turkey.

Tags

Abdullah Bozkurt al-Qaeda Andrei Karlov Azerbaijan China coup Cyprus Diyanet Doğu Perinçek Egypt espionage European Union Fethullah Gulen Germany Greece Gülen Movement Hakan Fidan Hulusi Akar IHH Iran ISIL ISIS Israel Libya Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu MIT Muslim Brotherhood NATO Press Freedom Qatar Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Russia SADAT Saudi Arabia Selected Article 1 Selected Article 2 Selected Article 3 spying Syria The United States Torture Turkey United States Yasin al-Qadi

Recent News

Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

Erdoğan promoted Turkish general who leaked secret NATO documents in honey-trap scheme

January 15, 2021
Turkey tells UN that drug traffickers were involved in kidnapping of Habib Chaab by Iranian intelligence

Turkey tells UN that drug traffickers were involved in kidnapping of Habib Chaab by Iranian intelligence

January 14, 2021
IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

IRGC Quds Force set up a shop in Turkey’s capital to recruit militants including al-Qaeda aspirants

January 13, 2021

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In