Turkish security forces over the last few days also rounded up over 70 suspected IS members across the country, but it was not clear if any were directly connected to the Istanbul attack.
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One of the suspects was detained in Istanbul late on Tuesday, Turkey’s interior minister Efkan Ala said during a news conference with his visiting German counterpart.
Turkish authorities identified the bomber as a Syrian born in 1988, who had recently entered Turkey and was not among a list of potential bombers wanted by Ankara.
Only one person was arrested in direct connection with Tuesday’s attack, which killed 10 German tourists and wounded another 15 people.
The Turkish premier said other countries fighting the Islamic State group had to adopt “a honest stance”, accusing Russian Federation both of preventing Turkey from carrying out raids on the extremists and of bombing schools and hospitals in Syria instead of fighting IS.
Pope Francis has invited the faithful to pray for the victims of a suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed 10 foreigners, mostly German tourists. He pledged to fight the militant group until it no longer “remains a threat” to Turkey or the world.
More suspects linked to Istanbul bombing arrested.
Meanwhile, de Maiziere stressed that there is “no indication” the bombing specifically targeted Germans, adding, “I see no reason to refrain from trips to Turkey”.
The Istanbul attack, targeting groups of tourists as they wandered around the square, appeared to mark a change in Islamic State’s tactics against Turkey.
Three Russian citizens were arrested in the resort city of Antalya on suspicion of being members of the jihadist group, the government said.
Kurdish rebels detonated a vehicle bomb at a police station in southeastern Turkey, then attacked it with rocket launchers and firearms, killing five people, including civilians, the governor’s office said Thursday. And an attack in the southern city of Suruc in July left 33 dead.
The Russian Foreign Ministry in November said 2,719 Russians had left for Syria to fight for ISIS.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin that at least eight Germans were among the dead and nine among the injured.
Information from The Washington Post was included in this story.
The coordinated attacks in Paris by Islamic State-affiliated terrorists, including two who allegedly traveled to Europe posing as refugees, have sparked alarm in Europe and the U.S. Some politicians have suggested that their countries only accept Christian refugees.
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Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara.
