Turkish security forces kill 2 IS militants

The attackers arrived at Ataturk airport’s global terminal by taxi before firing at passengers with automatic rifles and detonating suicide bombs at around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Tuesday.

In the Syrian conflict, Turkey has been accused of supporting Jihadist groups in a bid to bring about Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ouster, a move critics say helped exacerbate the civil war and cause the refugee crisis. They did not provide further details on their identities.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala told parliament that evidence continued to point to Islamic State responsibility and that 19 of the dead were foreigners.

McCaul said his information on Chatayev came from Turkish intelligence.

Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Security Council, sent a telegram to his Turkish counterpart calling for cooperation in fighting terrorism after the bombing, Russian news agencies reported. It showed a special forces police team entering a building carrying what appeared to be a steel shield to protect from possible counterattack during the raid.

Turkish officials did not confirm to Reuters that Chatayev was part of the investigation.

Chatayev is identified on a United Nations sanctions list as a leader in IS responsible for training Russian-speaking militants.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim pinned the airport attack on the Islamic State group, which is battling an array of enemies in Iraq and Syria including Western powers and Russian Federation.

Turkey’s air strikes against ISIS positions were suspended after Moscow threatened to shoot down Turkish planes over Syria, in response to Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet that it said was flying over Turkish territory last October.

In a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama expressed his condolences on behalf of the American people and said the attack, like the March attack at Brussels Airport, was an attack on the global community, according to a statement issued by the White House.

In the wake of the Istanbul attacks, the Obama administration permanently banned us troops from taking their families to Turkey while deployed.

Erdogan paid an unannounced visit to the airport on Saturday, saying a prayer in front of a memorial set up for the victims, which features the pictures of airport employees killed in the rampage. Government officials have flatly rejected such accusations in the past.

If Turkey wanted to engage with ISIS anywhere in northern Syria, “they can not do it without Russia’s blessing”, Mr Cagaptay said.

Anadolu Agency said police searched residences in Istanbul’s Pendik, Basaksehir and Sultanbeyli neighborhoods but it was not clear if any arrests were made.

Anadolu Agency didn’t identify the suspects or specify their nationalities.

The report said the suspects were in contact with IS 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.

Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member and key partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group, also faces security threats from Kurdish rebels who are demanding greater autonomy in Turkey’s southeast region and from ultra-left radicals.

The military killed two suspected Islamic State members trying to enter Turkey illegally at the weekend, security sources said on Thursday.

A senior Turkish official said the three bombers were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.