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Turkey arrests three more in connection with Istanbul attacks

Turkish police officers prepare to stand guard as people walk near the explosion site at the international terminal of the Istanbul Ataturk Airport, July 1, 2016. (AFP)

Turkey has arrested three more suspects in connection with the June 28 terrorist attacks at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

Turkish authorities did not disclose the identity or nationality of the detainees, the Anadolu state-run news agency reported Sunday.

With the new arrests, the total number of detentions in an investigation into the Istanbul assaults has reached 27.

Thirteen suspects, including three foreign nationals, have so far been referred to Istanbul's Bakirkoy Court, the report said.

A triple bombing and shooting attack killed 45 people, including 19 foreign nationals, and injured nearly 240 others in one of the world’s busiest airports.

There has yet to emerge a claim of responsibility for the attacks. Turkish officials point the finger at affiliates of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. “It is clear that this was Daesh … their place is in hell,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on July 1.

According to Turkish authorities, the three suspected Daesh assailants were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Officials had earlier said that investigators were struggling to identify the attackers from their limited remains, with an unnamed authority saying that “a medical team is working round the clock to conclude the identification process.”

The office of Istanbul’s governor said 52 people are still in hospital and that 20 of them are being treated in the intensive care unit. It said 184 victims have been discharged from health centers so far, including 13 people who were released on Saturday.

An airport employee mourns his colleagues as he looks at the pictures of killed airport employees at the international terminal of the Istanbul Ataturk Airport, June 30, 2016. (AFP)

Turkey has suffered a series of attacks in the past year blamed on either Daesh or militants affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The airport carnage is the deadliest of several raids to hit Istanbul this year during the summer tourist season.

The country is widely believed to be among the staunch supporters of the militant groups operating against the government in neighboring Syria. Analysts say Ankara’s policies regarding the Syria crisis have led to a rise in terror threats in Syria, and their spillover into Turkey.


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