Turks nab 4 IS suspects, explosives
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish police detained four Islamic State group suspects who were allegedly planning to carry out a “sensational” attack in Turkey and seized 24 suicide attack belts, officials said yesterday.
The latest detentions came as CIA chief Mike Pompeo arrived in Turkey to discuss the fight against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq, making his first overseas trip since taking office. Police found the suicide belts — made with 330 pounds of explosives and fortified with metal pieces — as well as two automatic rifles, 31 pounds of TNT, cellphones that could be used as detonators and other materials during an antiterror operation in Gaziantep, near the border with Syria.
There were no details on the nationalities of the suspects, who were allegedly taking orders from high-level IS members in Syria.
One suspect was wanted for membership in a terror organization, according to the Gaziantep provincial governor’s office.
The suspects were being questioned by prosecutors yesterday, an official at the governor’s office said.
He said the four led police investigators to a field and other locations where the explosives and other material were hidden.
Last year, Turkey suffered a series of deadly attacks carried out by IS or Kurdish militants and has stepped up anti-terrorism operations across the country. Some 750 people with alleged IS links were detained in a major police sweep last week.
Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, and the two later held discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish leader’s office said.
The talks were to include plans for a possible operation to retake the Islamic State group stronghold of Raqqa, a security official said.