A Muslim cleric endeavors to rebuild the Islamic State’s networks in Turkey and Georgia

Image: Jihad Watch

A radical Kurdish cleric, who had previously been accused of aiding the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria and helping reorganize its cells in Turkey and Georgia, has resumed preaching and advocating violent jihad after his recent release from prison.

Osman Akın, a Turkish national from the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakır, who uses the alias Mamoste Osman El Kurdi, declared his ongoing commitment to his cause in a speech broadcast on a YouTube channel on November 4, 2024.

Akın was released from pre-trial detention on May 5, 2024, and had remained out of the public eye until his recent reemergence. He had been arrested the year before, along with 94 other individuals, during a nationwide operation that was promoted by the Turkish government as a significant blow to ISIS networks in the country.

However, the crackdown proved to be short-lived. Not only was Akın quietly released, but most of those arrested in the operation were also freed by Turkish authorities.

According to the General Directorate of Security (Emniyet), Akın was working alongside ISIS operative Amer Onay, a fellow Kurdish Turkish citizen also known as Molla Ensarullah, to recruit militants for the group. This recruitment effort reportedly supported ISIS's attempts to reorganize its operations in Turkey and surrounding areas.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)