1998 Anıtkabir and Fatih Mosque attack attempts

On 29 October 1998, members of the Germany-based Turkish Islamist terrorist group, the "Caliphate State", led by Metin Kaplan, planned to carry out a series of attacks on Anıtkabir in Ankara and the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul during the Republic Day celebrations.

[9][10] 15 of these people, who were divided into two groups and acted unaware of each other, came to Istanbul from Sivas on October 28 and rehearsed the action they would carry out at the Fatih Mosque.

The company also stated that the same people called again on October 28 to rent another plane, but that request was not fulfilled due to inappropriate weather conditions.

[13] It was planned that the explosives placed in the tubes in order to cause more damage would be loaded onto the plane on the hill opposite Sivrihisar Aviation Center and Alibey Farm.

[13][14] The MİT and Turkish elite units caught a courier who was a member of the organization in Istanbul, and 17 people were later caught and detained on the accusations that they were members of the Caliphate State in the secret operations they organized in Fatih, Gaziosmanpaşa, and Kadıköy in Istanbul on October 28, 1998, in line with the information obtained from the first detained person during the interrogation.

According to the interrogations made by the detainees, the organization would also attempt to carry out attacks on many entertainment venues where New Year's celebrations were held.

[15] The next day, while four members of the organization were caught in the operations carried out in Erzurum, an arrest warrant was issued in absentia for Kaplan at the State Security Court on Duty.

"[19] Regarding what happened, Mehmet Nuri Yılmaz, the President of the state-ran Directorate of Religious Affairs, said, "What Metin Kaplan and his men have done is not compatible with Islam.