Turkey identifies suicide bomber, says linked to IS
Print Edition
TURKEY’S interior minister yesterday identified the suicide bomber who killed himself and four foreign tourists in Istanbul as a militant with links to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Minister Efkan Ala said the bomber was Turkish citizen Mehmet Ozturk, who was born in 1992 in Gaziantep province, which borders Syria. He said Ozturk was not on any list of wanted suspects and five other people were detained as part of the investigation.
Saturday’s explosion killed five people, including Ozturk, and wounded dozens of others. Among the fatalities were two American-Israelis, another Israeli and an Iranian. The attack targeted Istanbul’s pedestrian Istiklal Street, which is lined with shops and cafes in an area that also has government offices and foreign missions.
“The identity of the terrorist who carried out this reprehensible attack has been determined ... The findings obtained show that the terrorist is linked to the Daesh terror organization,” the minister said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
Turkey has endured six suicide bombing attacks in less than a year. It faces many security threats including from ultra-left radicals, Kurdish rebels demanding greater autonomy who currently are locked in battle with security forces, as well as IS.
Turkey is also a partner in the United States-led coalition against IS and its air bases are used to launch bombing runs against the group in Syria.
Two attacks this year hit the capital Ankara. An off-shoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Union claimed the February 17 car bombing that killed 29 people and the March 13 suicide bombing that killed 37 people.
On January 12, an attack that Turkish authorities blamed on IS claimed the lives of a dozen German tourists visiting Istanbul’s historic sites.
Ala said Turkey is determined to press ahead with its fight against terror groups but admitted it was difficult to prevent suicide attacks.
“We are working so that they do not happen,” he said.
Well-wishers yesterday placed carnations and candles at the scene of the attack, with one placard reading: “We are on the streets, we are not afraid of you.”
Israel’s government yesterday warned against travel to Turkey after three of its citizens were killed in the Istanbul suicide bombing the previous day.
The country’s anti-terrorism office raised its threat assessment and “recommends avoiding visits to Turkey,” it said in a statement.
“Yesterday’s deadly attack in Istanbul, in which a group of Israeli tourists was hit, underscores the threat against tourist targets throughout Turkey.”
Tens of thousands of Israelis visit nearby Turkey each year despite strained diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Besides the three killed, another 10 Israelis were wounded, foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said.
Five lightly wounded Israelis were flown home overnight, medics said yesterday. The five others with more serious injuries and the bodies of those killed were returned by Israel’s military yesterday afternoon.
The three Israelis killed were part of a group of Israeli tourists on a culinary-themed trip to Turkey, Israeli media reported.
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