Turk accused of recruiting Istanbul bombers

A Turkish court today filed terrorism charges against a Turk who reportedly confessed to recruiting suicide bombers and preparing the truck bombs that killed 62 in Istanbul last month.

The capture of the man, identified in the court indictment as Fevzi Yitiz, was the most important so far in the investigation, authorities said.

Yitiz was detained as he tried to sneak into southeastern Turkey from abroad, police said in a statement.

The court him with involvement in the bombings, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The details of the indictment were not immediately released.

Yitiz confessed that he helped recruit suicide bombers and prepare the bombs, police said without providing other details.

Authorities called him a “key suspect” in the bombings and said his capture was the most important so far in the investigation.

Police said Yitiz rented a workshop in an industrial section of Istanbul where the bombs were prepared.

He is suspected of helping rig the trucks used in the November 15 attack against two synagogues and the bombings of the British Consulate and London-based bank HSBC five days later.