The raids come as radical Al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria have gained ground in northern Syria, which left Ankara open to accusations it is lending support to extremist Islamists and turning a blind eye to vital routes for jihadists. Turkish anti-terror police detained on January 14 more than 25 suspects for connections to Al-Qaeda as part of a large-scale operation in six different provinces across the country. One of the arrested suspects is an employee of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) branch, a Turkish charity with close relations to the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Police raided the IHH offices in the southern Kilis province, on the borders with Syria, and confiscated computers. IHH is the same charity that owned and organized the Gaza flotilla, Mavi Marmara, in 2010 that was boarded by Israeli commandoes. The raid severely damaged the diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey after nine Turkish activists were killed in clashes with Israeli special forces. The IHH issued a statement condemning the raids and claiming that the organization was targeted because of its work in helping people in Syria. Lawyers from the organization said that the search was conducted unlawfully. IHH Secretary General Yaşar Kutluay said at a press conference following the raids that the operation against his organization was linked to the political turmoil and developments in the country. Hours after the raids, two anti-terror police chiefs, who oversaw the operation, were dismissed, which raised eyebrows and gave clout to allegations that the raid was politically motivated. One of the two dismissed chiefs was the anti-terror police chief in Kilis province where the raided IHH offices are located. The Turkish government has removed and reassigned more than 700 police chiefs over the past month (December 2013). Observers say the move was a crackdown on loyalists of a rival Islamist group to the Erdogan government, i.e. the Gulen movement led by Fethullah Gulen from his self-imposed exile in the United States. Experts interpret the political turmoil as a power struggle between Gulen and Erdogan, following the recent graft probe that targeted ministers and businessmen with close ties to government. Many believe that the Gulenists have become uncomfortable with Erdogan's tightening grasp on power, leaving them no choice but to launch an internal crackdown on his party using police chiefs, judges and prosecutors loyal to the Gulen movement. The new wave of arrests comes at a time when radical and Al-Qaeda-linked groups are gaining ground along the Turkish-Syrian border, making it harder for Turkey to deal with the crisis taking place in its neighboring country. Over the course of the Syrian conflict, the Turkish government has been accused repeatedly of aiding radical rebel groups fighting against president Bashar Al-Assad. Prominent Syrian Kurdish leaders in Syria indicated that the Erdogan government was turning a blind eye to the flow of "jihadist" fighters that go to Syria through Turkey, with some suggesting that the government was providing arms and weapons to rebel groups in Syria. Ankara has repeatedly denied such allegations. Yet, Ankara seems to be determined to initiate a new approach towards Syria. Hours after the anti-AlQaeda raids, Turkish president Abdullah Gul suggested that Turkey should give another thought to its policy in Syria to a more "realistic one". "I am of the opinion that we should reconsider our diplomacy and security policies given these facts in the south of our country and given the threat perception of (political) centers around us," Gül said during an annual conference attended by Turkish ambassadors
