Seventeen people including 11 Russians have been charged over the Istanbul airport attack, Dogan news agency reported Tuesday, bringing to 30 the total number charged in connection with the suicide assault. Turkish authorities are seeking two suspected Islamic State militants thought to be linked to last week’s Istanbul airport attack and believed to be in hiding near the border with Syria, a Turkish newspaper said today.
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Four thermal binoculars, three military camouflage suits, two passports with different names, three Kyrgyz identity cards and five birth certificates were found with them, Dogan said.
Thirteen suspects, including three foreigners, were referred to Istanbul’s Bakirkoy Court on Sunday following medical checks.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Monday that police were on high alert and had boosted their presence at Istanbul’s airports and metro and railway stations.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visits Istanbul’s Ataturk airport to pay his respects to the victims of the triple suicide bombings.
It is unclear if they were arriving or leaving Ataturk Airport, which is still recovering from the co-ordinated attack on Tuesday night.
The gun and bomb attack killed 44 people and injured more than 200 others in one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.
Anadolu Agency didn’t identify the suspects or specify their nationalities.
The report came a day after U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the man who directed the attackers is Akhmed Chatayev, a terrorist from Russia’s North Caucasus region.
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Turkey has been rocked by a series of attacks over the past year, blamed on both Daesh militants and Kurdish rebels.
