Turkish Daesh suspect Uğur Bahadır arrived at Islamabad airport, trained in Balochistan: sources

Turkish national Uğur Bahadır, a suspected member of Daesh, arrived at Islamabad Airport from Turkey before travelling to Mastung in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, where he reportedly received training at a Daesh camp, sources said.

The sources say Bahadır, son of Kazim, was arrested in Pakistan in March 2025, contradicting Turkish media reports that Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) recently captured him in an intelligence operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

According to information obtained from the sources, Bahadır joined the sixth training group at a Daesh camp in Mastung, where he used the name Abdul Rehman. After completing his training, he remained at the Muawiya training centre while awaiting further instructions.

The sources said that following the destruction of Daesh camps in Mastung in late February 2025, Bahadır moved with other group members to Orakzai district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on the instructions of the group’s leadership. He subsequently adopted the alias Abdullah.

In Orakzai, Bahadır initially stayed with a local Daesh commander identified as Hamza. After Hamza was killed in the Toorsmat area on February 20, Bahadır reportedly joined a group led by Haji Rehman, also known as Abu Nasir.

When Haji Rehman was killed during an operation in the Ghalju area on February 28, Bahadır and another Daesh member, identified as Yunus, son of Muhammad, and known as Yasser, attempted to travel to Peshawar.

The two were subsequently arrested at a local police checkpoint, according to the sources.

They said police initially suspected the men of involvement in drug trafficking before identifying their alleged links to Daesh.

The sources further alleged that the arrests were later presented as the outcome of a coordinated intelligence operation. They claimed that similar cases involving foreign Daesh members had also been portrayed as organized security operations after the individuals were detained in areas under Pakistan’s control.