Turkey’s interior minister has identified the suicide bomber who struck in Istanbul on Saturday as a man affiliated with the Islamic State militant group.
At a news conference in the capital Ankara on Sunday, Interior minister Efkan Ala said DNA tests identified the bomber of a shopping district as Mehmet Ozturk. He was from the southeastern city of Gaziantep near the border with Syria.
The explosion killed 4 people, including foreign tourists, and wounded 39.
The Islamic State group has not claimed responsibility.
Turkey’s security authorities suspect 3 other Islamic State militants plan to carry out suicide bomb attacks in the country.
They are searching for the suspects and have disclosed their names and photos.
The authorities have stepped up the alert by mobilizing 200,000 officers to patrol busy shopping districts.
A soccer game was cancelled in Istanbul on Sunday between local teams 2 hours before its start after they received information regarding security.(NHK News)
Link: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160321_08/