Suspect detained in Turkey for 2016 bombing that killed twelve Germans

Turkish authorities have captured a suspect in connection with a 2016 suicide bombing that left 12 German tourists dead in Istanbul, police in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa confirmed to dpa on Wednesday.

The suspect was detained late on Monday in a joint operation by police and the country’s intelligence agency in Sanliurfa, which lies along the border with Syria, state news agency Anadolu reported. He was identified as Islamic State member Suleyman al-Aggal.

Police in Sanliurfa said al-Aggal has yet to be referred to court and that the prosecutor issued a confidentiality order on the case.

The suspect’s nationality was not immediately clear.

Ankara blamed the January 2016 attack on Islamic State, but no group claimed responsibility.

The “terrorist” had “confessed” to having provided the explosives for the 2016 attack, as well as for a separate bomb attack in Sanliurfa’s Suruc district, Anadolu reported.

Anadolu said al-Aggal joined Islamic State in 2014 and had been trained in explosives. He was in coordination with one of the “masterminds” of the deadly attacks in Turkey, it added.

In 2018, a Turkish court handed down life sentences to three Syrian nationals for their role in the Istanbul suicide attack.

Source: Herald Mail Media