Istanbul suicide bomber was Turkish citizen, linked to ISIS

Turkey's interior minister on Sunday identified the suicide bomber who killed four foreign tourists in Istanbul as a militant with links to the ISIS 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 wasn't on any list of wanted suspects and five other people were detained as part of the investigation.

Saturday's explosion wounded dozens of others. 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 name for ISIS.

Turkey is itself suspected of actively training and arming Takfiri militants and buying smuggled oil from Daesh, which is wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria.

Last month, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said Daesh recruiters have supposedly formed a network in the Turkish city of Antalya for foreign militants from the former Soviet Union.

Russia also released satellite images last year, showing long lines of trucks carrying oil from Syria’s Daesh-controlled parts into Turkey.

Turkey’s national Intelligence Organization (MIT) is also accused of helping Daesh militants cross the border into Syria.


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