“Turkish authorities detained numerous Islamic State (IS) suspects in large-scale anti-terrorist operations carried out across the country after the deadly Istanbul+Explosion+Caused+by+Syrian+Suicide+Bomber” suicide attack in Istanbul on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Eight Germans were among the dead and nine others were wounded, some seriously, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin.
Meanwhile, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus was quoted as saying the attacker, whom he identified as Nabeel Fadel, was a Saudi-born ISIL member.
Russian police have said that several thousand Russians are believed to have gone to Syria to join ISIS.
“Turkey won’t backtrack in its struggle against Daesh by even one step”, Davutoglu said, referring to ISIL by its Arabic acronym.
Turkey’s state-run news agency said Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held a telephone conversation with German chancellor Angela Merkel to express his condolences.
Ms Merkel said the latest attack would deepen German resolve to combat global terrorism. “Because Turkey fights them all with the same determination”.
One person was detained late on Tuesday as part of the investigation into the blast, Ala said, but gave no details. If the group was indeed behind today’s bombing, in the heart of the Turkish capital, directed at both its most iconic landmarks and a pivotal sector of the country’s economy, it might just force Turkey to address ISIS as the major threat it is.
Anadolu said the suspects were allegedly in contact with IS fighters in conflict zones and had provided logistical support to the group.
Russia’s Consulate General in the Mediterranean city of Antalya said three Russians had been detained over suspected connection to Islamic State, Russian state news agency RIA said.
Advertisement
Police seized documents and CDs in a search of the premises where they were staying, Turkey’s Dogan News Agency said. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
