Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Turkish Police Kill Suspected Suicide Bomber Near Police Station - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive
Select Page

Turkish police shot dead on Wednesday an ISIS militant who was preparing to stage an attack on a police station in southern Turkey, the interior ministry said.

The assailant, wearing a vest packed with explosives, was killed outside the police station in the Yenisehir district, which security sources said is located next to the regional headquarters of Turkey’s MIT national intelligence agency.

“One member of the Daesh terrorist organization, wearing a suicide bomb vest, was captured dead in front of the Mersin Yenisehir district’s … central police station,” the ministry said in a statement.

Police officers spotted the suspect behaving suspiciously some 50 meters (55 yards) from the police station at around 8:15 am (0515 GMT), the Mersin governor’s office said.

The man was shot after he ignored police calls to stop, continued walking toward the complex, and appeared to be reaching for a cable dangling from his shoulder, the office added in a statement.

Mustafa Ercan, the chief prosecutor for Mersin province said the suspect was wearing a suicide vest which was later defused by police.

Ercan said authorities suspect that the man was an ISIS militant but did not provide details on his identity.

ISIS militants have previously carried out gun and bomb attacks in Turkey. Many foreign fighters have also passed through Turkey in recent years on their way to join the jihadist group in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

Ankara has detained more than 5,000 ISIS suspects and deported some 3,290 foreign militants from 95 different countries in recent years, according to Turkish officials.

The Dogan news agency, however, identified the would-be attacker as a 20-year-old Syrian national who lived in an apartment block near the police station. It said bomb disposal experts defused the explosive device.

Police subsequently searched the home of the Syrian man and detained his father, Dogan said, adding that his family had moved to Mersin a year ago.

Asharq Al-Awsat English

Asharq Al-Awsat English

Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.

More Posts

Follow Me:
FacebookGoogle PlusYouTube