Turkish police detain 11 more suspects over airport attack

Earlier, the Istanbul governor’s office said 52 people were still in the hospital – 20 of them in intensive care – four days after the devastating airport attack.

A Turkish official said the Russian attacker was from the country’s restive Dagestan region, the epicenter of an Islamic insurgency against the Russian state.

The attack on Istanbul’s airport that left dozens dead and hundreds injured Tuesday was likely organized by a one-armed Chechen terrorist who goes by “Akhmed One-Arm”, Fox News reports.

No group has claimed responsibility for the airport bombings, but authorities suspect the bombers were affiliated with Islamic State.

ISIS is believed to be responsible for the airport attack, though no one has claimed responsibility. Turkey was initially accused of not doing enough to stop the influx of fighters, but since IS began launching attacks on Turkish soil previous year, Ankara says it has stepped up security and worked to lock down its border.

A video obtained by Turkey’s Birgun newspaper shows terrified workers and passengers running away from a man dressed in black during the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.

The Aksaray neighborhood has become a hub for mostly Syrian and Iraqi nationals who have moved to Turkey following unrest in their countries and set up scores of small shops, restaurants, real estate agencies and import-export businesses.

“They say they are doing this in the name of Islam”, he said. “The Turkish authorities have established the identities of two terrorists [as] Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov”, the ministry said in a statement, citing Kyrgyzstan’s consulate in Istanbul, with no further details provided.

According to Turkish authorities, the three suspected Daesh assailants were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. “They embarked on a journey unaware, and came face to face with death”. In addition, a computer that had been destroyed was been found in a trash bin near the apartment where the suicide bombers were staying.

Turkish and Swedish media also have identified Chatayev as the organizer. A report released in October said Chatayev was part of a “group of militants that was planning attacks against United States and Turkish facilities”.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol. The airport carnage is the deadliest of several raids to hit Istanbul this year during the summer tourist season.

The military killed two suspected Islamic State members trying to enter Turkey illegally at the weekend, security sources said on Thursday. In recent months, however, Turkey has sought to increasingly close off the militant group’s routes for sending supplies and recruits into Syria.

Mehmet Sirin Kaya was shot in a counter-terrorism operations in Lice, in the Diyarbakir province, officials said.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.