Turkish media reported on October 30 that Turkey’s intelligence agency had arrested a Turkish national and ISIS member named Ugur Bahadir in the “Afghanistan-Pakistan region” and transferred him to Turkey.
At the direction of the relevant authorities, Turkish media generally use the term “Afghanistan-Pakistan region” in reports on operations in which ISIS members are arrested in areas under Pakistan’s control, for intelligence and political considerations.
Citing intelligence officials, Turkish media reported that Bahadir, whose alias was Abdullah, had travelled from Turkey to the “Afghanistan-Pakistan region” in 2024 at the direction of another Turkish ISIS member named Ozgur Altun. He had also carried out various duties at ISIS training camps.
Al-Mirsaad has obtained detailed and reliable information about Ugur Bahadir from its own sources. According to these sources, Bahadir was arrested in March this year, but the news of his arrest has only now been made public.
Information obtained by Al-Mirsaad indicates that Ugur Bahadir, son of Kazim, arrived from Turkey at Islamabad Airport in 1403 (SH) and later travelled to Mastung in Balochistan.
He was part of the sixth training batch at the camps in Mastung, where he was known among ISIS members as Abdul Rehman. After completing his training, he stayed at the Muawiya training centre while waiting to travel. He had no specific responsibilities there.
The sources added that in late February 2025, when the ISIS centres in Mastung were destroyed, Ugur Bahadir moved with other ISIS members to Orakzai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), following instructions from the ISIS leadership. He then became known by the alias Abdullah.
In Orakzai, Bahadir initially stayed with a local ISIS commander named Hamza. After Hamza was killed on February 20 in the Toorsmat area of Orakzai, he joined the group led by Haji Rehman (Abu Nasir). When Haji Rehman was killed in an operation on February 28 in the Ghalju area of Orakzai, Bahadir and another associate, Yunus, son of Muhammad, known as Yasser, tried to make their way to Peshawar. However, they were arrested at a local police checkpoint along the way.
According to the sources, the police initially suspected the two men of being drug traffickers, but later identified them. Photographs of both men also appeared in the media at the time.
Sources say this accidental arrest was portrayed as an organized operation so that Pakistan’s military regime could win concessions.
In the past, several foreign ISIS members, including Turkish nationals, have also been handed over to their home countries after being arrested in areas under Pakistan’s control. As in Bahadir’s case, this was done through fabricated stories and staged scenarios to secure concessions. Al-Mirsaad reported on these cases at the time.
