On Europe's doorstep: Islamic State have now infiltrated TURKEY and are 'plotting attack'

MILITANTS from the Islamic State have entered Turkey and are plotting an attack in Ankara and Istanbul, the national intelligence agency reportedly revealed.

Around 3,000 militants from the extremist group have reportedly infiltrated Turkey GETTY/AP

Around 3,000 militants from the extremist group have reportedly infiltrated Turkey

Around 3,000 militants from the extremist religious group in Syria and Iraq infiltrated Turkey through its southern border after being pushed from the pivotal border town of Kobani.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet broke the worrying revelations from an internal memo from MIT (Milli Istihbarat Teskilati – the country's National Intelligence Organization).

Militants expert in suicide and bomb attacks are preparing attacks on the Istanbul and Ankara

MIT internal memo

Some militants, including senior commanders plotting terror attacks in Turkey, are thought to have already entered Turkey and hidden in safe houses, the internal note claims.

It adds: "Militants expert in suicide and bomb attacks are preparing […] attacks on the Istanbul and Ankara missions of coalition forces which intervened in Syria."

Istanbul holds a huge significance for the Islamic State, also referred to as IS, ISIS and ISIL.

The terror group strictly adheres to a variety of Islam whose references to the path to the Day of Judgment have had an enormous impact on its military and geographical strategy.

According to the beliefs of the so-called Islamic State their militants await the army of "Rome" and a defeat at Dabiq, in Syria, kickstarts the countdown to the apocalypse.  

ISIS extremists believe the armies of Rome and the armies of the Islamic State will meet in Istanbul, the historic capital of the Eastern Roman empire.

The Islamic State has released a series of propaganda films throughout the past six months UNIVERSAL

The Islamic State has released a series of propaganda films throughout the past six months

Istanbul will be ransacked by the group, who will then creep towards Europe, they claim. 

The apocalyptic literature then tells of an enemy – an anti-Messiah referred to by Muslim texts as Dajjal – who will slaughter a vast number of the caliphate’s fighters, until just 5,000 remain.

The weakened Islamic State will then be cornered in Jerusalem for a final showdown, the prophecy foretells.

ISIS will only be saved when Jesus — the second-most-revered prophet in Islam — then returns to Earth to spear Dajjal and lead the Muslims to victory.

Some believe the group will then create a world-wide caliphate.

In the terror organisation's latest propaganda film, a masked extremist points a hunting knife at the camera and said Islamic State will "conquer Rome".

ISIS failed to hold Kobani, which Turkish intelligence says drove the group across the border GETTY

ISIS failed to hold Kobani, which Turkish intelligence says drove the group across the border

Massive destruction in Kobane after Kurds drive out IS

The extremist group currently hold a third of Iraq and neighbouring Syria – imposing strict Sharia law across its territory.

Islamic State's merciless tactics include mass killings, crucifixions and the abduction of religious and ethnic minorities.

The Islamic State has released a series of propaganda films throughout the past six months, showing the beheading of soldiers and journalists.

Earlier this month, group posted a video online of 26-year-old Jordian pilot Lieutenant al-Kasaesbeh doused in flammable liquid and then burnt to death in a cage.

US officials believe ISIS could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.

It is also reported to have cash and assets worth in excess of $2billion (£1.2bn) – making it comfortably the world's wealthiest militant group.

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