After IS threat, Turkey’s Alevi community on alert
The Turkish police have disclosed intelligence of possible IS attacks on Alevi institutions but have yet to enforce protection measures.
On Nov. 6, the head of Turkey’s Alevi-Bektashi Federation, Baki Duzgun, received a call from the police anti-terror department, inviting him to their headquarters in Ankara. Duzgun was in Istanbul that day, so a delegation representing the federation went to the meeting. It turned out the police had an alarming message to convey. “We got intelligence that the Islamic State [IS] is planning attacks on Alevi institutions. You have to take precautions,” they said.
That’s how Duzgun recounted the meeting to Al-Monitor. And was he surprised with the police’s message? “No,” he said, “not at all.”
