Release of key muslim cleric revives Kurdish ISIS networks in Turkey and Georgia

[duluxe]

Osman Akın, a Turkish national from the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır, who operates under the assumed name Mamoste Osman El
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Abdullah Bozkurt/Stockholm
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A radical Kurdish cleric, previously accused of aiding and abetting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and assisting in the reorganization of its cells in Turkey and Georgia, has resumed his activities preaching and promoting violent jihad following his most recent release from jail.
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Osman Akın, a Turkish national from the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır, who goes by the assumed name Mamoste Osman El Kurdi, publicly vowed to stay committed to his cause in his first speech following his release, broadcast on a YouTube channel on November 4, 2024.

The cleric was released from pre-trial detention on May 5, 2024, and his activity had remained quiet until this latest public reappearance. He was originally arrested the previous year along with 94 other suspects in a nationwide operation that the government promoted as a significant crackdown on ISIS networks within Turkey.

Osman Akın, a Turkish national from the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır, who operates under the assumed name Mamoste Osman El Kurdi, has been actively supporting ISIS networks within Turkey.
However, the crackdown proved short-lived; not only was Akın quietly released, but most of the suspects arrested at the time were also subsequently freed by Turkish authorities.

According to the Security General Directorate (Emniyet), Akın was assisting ISIS operative Amer Onay, also a Kurdish Turkish citizen, who goes by the name of Molla Ensarullah, in recruiting militants for the jihadist group. This recruitment effort reportedly aligned with ISIS’s attempts to restructure in Turkey and neighboring regions.

Onay, whose radical preaching led to a ban of his channel on YouTube, moved his broadcast to Telegram, where he posts pro-ISIS videos and advocates for armed jihad. Claiming to represent ISIS in Turkey, he has recruited former ISIS fighters, actively seeks new volunteers and arranges for the supply of arms and ammunition. In fact, during search and seizure operations carried out last year, authorities discovered multiple firearms in the residences of affiliated suspects.

Pressure from Islamist circles campaigning for the release of ISIS detainees contributed to Akın’s release, allowing him to resume preaching and organizing events.

Amer Onay, a Kurdish Turkish citizen known as Molla Ensarullah, is considered the chief architect of the ISIS network among Kurdish populations in Turkey and Georgia.
The group’s primary platform is a publication titled Ahlak ve Sünnet Dergisi in Turkish (Morality and Sunnah Magazine). They also produce books and other propaganda materials promoting armed jihad. While headquartered in Diyarbakır, the group operates additional offices across several Turkish provinces, including Muş, Şırnak, Adana, Yalova, Ankara and Ağrı.

The network also maintains a mosque in neighboring Georgia where it promotes its jihadist campaign. Onay, previously based in Van, crossed into Georgia illegally in June 2022 to oversee the group’s operations there.

In a 2023 police operation, multiple firearms were discovered in the residences of ISIS suspects linked to radical preachers Amer Onay and Osman Akın.
The group operates an active YouTube channel with over 24,000 subscribers and a Telegram channel boasting more than 1,500 followers. It also maintains several accounts on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), including @Islamimedyaofis and @ahlaksunnett, among others. Events organized by the group draw hundreds of sympathizers.

In May 2023, the group campaigned for the release of ISIS women incarcerated in Baghdad’s Rusafa prison. This facility holds hundreds of women, including foreign nationals from Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, France, Germany and the United States.

ISIS’s Turkish network utilizes a mosque in the Republic of Georgia to advance its jihadist campaign.
The group also facilitates logistics for ISIS in Syria, supplying food and other necessities to regions in northern Syria where ISIS underground networks remain active. It raises funds in Turkey and finances the purchase and lease of properties across multiple provinces to accommodate its growing number of followers, primarily among the Kurdish community.

The Islamist government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not taken significant action against the group, choosing instead to implement only minimal measures to suppress its activities. This leniency seems to result from the government’s undeclared revolving door policy, which has long allowed various radical Islamist groups to operate freely within Turkey’s criminal justice system, fostering a permissive environment with little to no consequences.

ISIS’s operations center, overseen by radical preachers Amer Onay and Osman Akın, is located in Turkey’s capital city, Ankara. (Google street image)

ISIS office in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakır.