‘Only the first step’: Turkey's Erdogan flaunts anti-Mossad op as against Israel

ANKARA — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip gloated Wednesday over a Turkish operation against an alleged Mossad spy ring of more than three dozen people in his country last week.

“Of course [the operation] seriously surprised Israel,” Erdogan said during a speech marking the 97th anniversary of the establishment of Turkey’s intelligence agency, MIT, in Ankara. “Just wait! This is only the first step. You will get to know Turkey,” he added, hinting that new counterespionage operations against alleged Israeli spy networks could be underway.

What happened: On Jan. 2, Turkish authorities rounded up more than 30 individuals, mainly foreigners,  in simultaneous operations in eight different cities including Istanbul over suspected links to the Mossad.

A Turkish court ruled on Friday that 15 people would remain in custody pending trial on charges of committing “political or military espionage” on behalf of Israel.