Istanbul suicide bomber tied to Islamic State group

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s interior minister on Sunday identified the suicide bomber who killed four foreign tourists in Istanbul as a militant with links to the Islamic State group.

Minister Efkan Ala said the bomber was Turkish citizen Mehmet Ozturk, who was born in 1992 in Gaziantep province, which borders Syria. He said Ozturk wasn’t on any list of wanted suspects and five other people were detained as part of the investigation.

Saturday’s explosion wounded dozens of others. Among the fatalities were two American Israelis, another Israeli and an Iranian. The attack targeted Istanbul’s pedestrian Istiklal Street, which is lined with shops and cafes in an area that also has government offices and foreign missions.

“The identity of the terrorist who carried out this reprehensible attack has been determined. ... The findings obtained show that the terrorist is linked to the Daesh terror organization,” the minister said, using an alternative acronym for Islamic State.

Security threats

Istanbul remained tense a day after the bombing, with Turkish authorities postponing a high- profile soccer match between two major teams, citing an unspecified threat. The Istanbul governor’s office said Sunday’s Galatasaray- Fenerbahce derby was canceled following “the assessment of serious intelligence.”

Turkey has endured six suicide bombing attacks in less than a year. The country faces a wide array of security threats including from ultra- left radicals, Kurdish rebels demanding greater autonomy who currently are locked in battle with security forces in the southeast, and Islamic State militants.

Turkey is also a partner in the U. S.- led coalition against Islamic State, and its air bases are being used to launch bombing runs against the group in neighboring Syria.

Two of the attacks this year hit the Turkish capital, Ankara. An offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Union claimed the Feb. 17 car bombing that killed 29 people and the March 13 suicide bombing that killed 37 people.

On Jan. 12, an attack that Turkish authorities blamed on Islamic State claimed the lives of a dozen German tourists visiting Istanbul’s historic sites. That attack delivered a bitter blow to the country’s vital tourism sector.

Extremist groups

Ala said Turkey was determined to press ahead with its fight against extremist groups, but admitted it was difficult to prevent suicide attacks. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also vowed to defeat groups trying to harm Turkey.

“The terror groups and the forces behind them will sooner or later in the end be beaten,” Erdogan said.

On Sunday, well- wishers placed carnations and candles at the scene of the attack, with one placard reading “We are on the streets, we are not afraid of you.”

Earlier, Israeli authorities raised the number of Israelis killed in the bombing to three, among them two who also hold American citizenship.

The third victim was identified Sunday as Avraham Goldman, 69, from Herzliya. The two others are Simha Damari, 60, from Dimona and Yonata Shor, 40, from Tel Aviv.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the Israelis were specifically targeted, but Israel’s counterterrorism bureau upgraded the threat level in Turkey, issuing a travel advisory that recommends Israelis avoid visiting the country.

The Israelis’ bodies and other Israelis wounded in the blast were being evacuated while a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official headed to Istanbul for meetings with Turkish officials.