It was not clear if the suspects had any links to the airport attack.
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At least one of three suspected Isis suicide bombers is thought to be a foreigner but investigators are struggling to identify them from their limited remains.
Two days after the deadly suicide bombings at Istanbul’s worldwide airport claimed at least 40 lives and rendered over 140 people seriously injured, several eyewitnesses have shared shocking details of the incident.
As Turkey continues to investigate the Istanbul airport bombing and track down suspects, a Turkish official says the mastermind of an earlier suicide bombing has been killed.
Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Security Council, sent a telegram to his Turkish counterpart calling for cooperation in fighting terrorism after the bombing, Russian news agencies reported.
Turkey has declared a day of national mourning for Thursday for the 42 dead in the attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the militant group.
Airports around the globe have been bolstering security since the 1970s following terror attacks.
Once a reluctant partner in the fight against Daesh, Ankara adjusted its military rules of engagement this month to allow North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies to carry out more patrol flights along its border with Syria. Two hundred and thirty-nine people were wounded. In those attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group, 32 were killed and more than 300 wounded.
The official gave no further details beyond confirming the attackers’ nationalities and declined to be named because details of the investigation have not yet been released.
NTV, without citing any sources, said one of the two militants was wanted by Turkey on suspicion that he would carry out suicide attacks in the capital Ankara or in the southern city of Adana. The bodies of 33 people who lost their lives in the deadly attack have been handed over to their relatives, according to Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin. Of those who were wounded, 94 remained in hospital, the Istanbul Governor’s office reported.
Experts say Turkey is especially vulnerable because various terrorists operate there.
ISIS has a reason to detest Turkey.
Turkey is part of a US-led military coalition against Islamic State and home to around 3 million refugees from the five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at the ceremony, made a vague reference to the “forces” that don’t want his country to succeed – including the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG and the Islamic State group.
Turkey has spent much of this year reeling from terror attacks as it weathers bombing campaigns by both ISIS and Kurdish militants. The violence has also rattled Turkey’s tourism industry, a key sector of the national economy.
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The initiative that will see the Paris monument lit up in red and white at 11pm local time – had been planned for Wednesday, but was delayed 24 hours.
