Turkish police hold suspect in Istanbul suicide bomb probe

Turkish police have arrested one person suspected of having a direct link to the deadly suicide bombing that killed 10 German people in Istanbul’s main tourist area.

More than a dozen other suspected Islamic State militants were detained in other parts of the country, but they do not appear to be tied to Tuesday’s attack just steps from the Blue Mosque in the historic Sultanahmet district.

The suspect with a link to the attack was detained in Istanbul, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said during a news conference with his visiting German counterpart.

He did not provide further details, including whether the suspect was considered to be a key participant.

Turkish media reports said police had raided a home in an affluent Istanbul neighbourhood, detaining one woman suspected of having links to IS, although it wasn’t clear if she was the suspect Ala was referring to.

Turkish authorities have identified the bomber as a Syrian born in 1988, who had recently entered Turkey, and officials say he had IS links.

Turkey arrests more suspects linked to Istanbul bombing https://t.co/odRDemBKBm

— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) January 13, 2016

IS, however, hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attack.

Turkish media, including newspapers close to the government, identified the bomber as Nabil Fadli, and said he was born in Saudi Arabia.

Ala said the suicide bomber wasn’t on any Turkish or international watch lists for IS militants.

The blast would be the first by IS to target Turkey’s vital tourism sector, although the militants have struck with deadly effect elsewhere in the country.

Yesterday, Turkish police also arrested 13 suspected IS militants, including three Russian nationals.

But it wasn’t clear if those arrests were directly linked to the Istanbul bombing.

The attack, which also wounded 15 other people, including Germans, a Norwegian man and a Peruvian woman, was the latest in a string of attacks by Islamic extremists targeting Westerners.