6.51 AM Tuesday, 19 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
19 March 2024

Istanbul attack planner identified as Chechen Daesh trainer

Published
By Reuters

A Chechen terrorist responsible for training Russian-speaking militants for Daesh is believed to be the planner of Tuesday’s deadly Istanbul airport massacre that killed 43, according to Turkish media.

Akhmed Chatayev was identified on a UN sanctions list as a Daesh leader and was wanted by Russian authorities, Reuters reported citing the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper. Chatayev had been wanted for links to terrorism since 2008, Russia Today reported, citing Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

Another attacker, also Chechen, was named as Osman Vadinov by the Hurriyet newspaper. Vadinov reportedly arrived in Turkey in 2015 from Raqqa, the Syrian capital of Daesh ’ so-called caliphate. Turkish officials did not confirm either Chatayev or Vadinov as being involved in the attack.

Turkish police on Thursday linked the airport suicide bombers to Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and rounded up 13 more suspects in connection with the attack. State-run Anadolu Agency said the raids were carried out in Istanbul's Pendik, Basaksehir and Sultanbeyli neighborhoods, which span the city's Asian and European sides.

Police seized three hunting rifles and documents relating to Daesh.

Authorities said all information suggests the shooting and suicide bombing attack by three assailants late Tuesday on one of the world's busiest airports was the work of Daesh.

Of those killed, 19 were foreign nationals, three of whom had dual citizenship. More than 230 people were hurt in the attack. Thursday marked a second day of funerals and mourning.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the militant group, which used Turkey as a crossing point to establish itself in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Daesh this week boasted to have cells in Turkey, among other countries.

In separate large-scale police operations, nine suspects believed to be linked to Daesh were also detained in the coastal city of Izmir. It was not clear if the suspects had any links to the carnage at the airport.

The report said the suspects were in contact with Daesh militants in Syria and were engaged in "activities that were in line with the organization's aims and interests," including providing financial sources, recruits and logistical support.

Days before the Istanbul attack, on June 25, security forces killed two suspected Islamic State militants who were trying to cross the border illegally and ignored orders from security forces to stop, according to local media reports.

One of the two militants was wanted by Turkey on suspicion that he would carry out suicide attacks in the capital Ankara or in the southern city of Adana, Anadolu said.

Turkey shares long, porous borders with both Syria and Iraq, where Daesh controls large pockets of territory. The government has blamed Daesh for several major bombings over the past year, including in the capital Ankara, and on tourists in Istanbul.

Nationalities of Istanbul airport bombers identified

Three suspected Daesh suicide bombers who killed 43 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul's main airport this week were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals, a Turkish government official said on Thursday.

The attack on one of the world's busiest airports, a hub at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, was the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in Turkey this year.

The three bombers opened fire to create panic outside, before two of them got inside the terminal building and blew themselves up. The third detonated his explosives at the entrance. A further 239 people were wounded.

The official gave no further details beyond confirming the attackers' nationalities and declined to be named because details of the investigation have not yet been released. Forensics teams had been struggling to identify the bombers from their limited remains, officials said earlier.

"A medical team is working around the clock to conclude the identification process," one of the officials said.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala told parliament that evidence continued to point to Daesh responsibility and that the death toll had risen to 43, of whom 19 were foreigners. Ala said the identity and nationality of one of the bombers had been determined but did not comment further.

The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper said the Russian bomber was from Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, where Moscow has led two wars against separatists and religious militants since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper named him as Osman Vadinov and said he had come from Raqqa, the heart of Daesh-controlled territory in Syria. The Russian interior ministry said it was checking information about Vadinov.

A spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's state security service said it was investigating, while the Uzbek security service had no immediate comment.