“We confirm the detention of three Russian citizens”, Consul-General Alexander Tolstopyatenko said, addint that “the reason for their detention is being determined”. It’s not clear exactly when the detentions were made. These people did not participate in the terrorist attack directly what means that they were under the Turkish special services’ control, the source said.
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Russia’s Consulate General in Antalya confirmed that three Russians had been detained over a suspected connection to IS, state news agency RIA reported.
The Anadolu Agency said anti-terrorism police conducted the raids on Wednesday, a day after an IS suicide bomber detonated a bomb in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, killing 10 foreigners, majority German tourists. The 21 people detained in Sanliurfa were also planning an attack at an unspecified location in Turkey, it added.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer condolences and vowed Turkey’s fight against Islamic State, at home and as part of the U.S.-led coalition, would continue.
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Turkey has become a national target for Isis, with two bombings this year blamed on the radical group, one in the town of Suruc near the Syrian border and the other in the capital Ankara.
