Turkey Remands in Custody 12 Suspects over Jan. 12 Istanbul Bombing
The number of suspects detained in connection with last week’s deadly blast in Istanbul has increased to 12 after Turkish authorities arrested two more people, state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Wednesday.
The two suspects were arrested on Saturday in the city of Sanlıurfa, near the border with Syria. They were remanded in custody on charges of premeditated murder and membership in an armed terrorist group by a court in Istanbul on Wednesday, according to AA.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing in Sultanahmet Square that claimed the lives of 10 people, all of them German tourists, near the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s landmarks. The explosion left 15 other people injured.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has blamed the attack on the Islamic State group. The authorities have identified the suicide bomber as Syrian national Nabil Fadli who had registered as a refugee in İstanbul a week before the attack.