The three suicide bombers who attacked Istanbul airport were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz, Turkish officials said as they rounded up 13 people suspected of involvement in the deadly assault in sweeping raids across the city.
The death toll from Tuesday’s gun and bomb attack at Ataturk Airport has risen to 44 after two more victims succumbed to their injuries. More than 230 people were injured in the attack.
In raids in 16 locations in Istanbul, 13 people suspected of having links to the Islamic State group, also known as Isis, the most likely perpetrator of the attack at one of the world’s busiest airports, were detained.
The manhunt spanned three neighbourhoods on the city’s Asian and European sides and three of those held were foreign nationals.
Islamic State has not said it was behind the attack, but it is known to use Turkey as a crossing point to establish itself in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, and the group boasted this week of having cells in Turkey, among other countries.
In a separate police operation, nine suspects believed to be linked to Islamic State were detained in the coastal city of Izmir. It is not clear if the suspects had any links to the carnage at the airport.
The Izmir raids unfolded simultaneously in the neighbourhoods of Konak, Bucak, Karabaglar and Bornova, according to the Anadolu Agency. Police seized three hunting rifles and documents relating to Islamic State during the raids.
Anadolu said the suspects were in contact with Islamic State militants in Syria and were engaged in “activities that were in line with the organisation’s aims and interests”, including providing financial sources, recruits and logistical support.
Days before the Istanbul attack, on June 25th, security forces killed two suspected Islamic State militants who were trying to cross the border illegally and ignored orders from security forces to stop, according to local media reports.
One of the two militants was wanted by Turkey on suspicion that he would carry out suicide attacks in the capital Ankara or in the southern city of Adana, Anadolu said.
Turkey shares long, porous borders with both Syria and Iraq, where IS controls large pockets of territory. The government has blamed Isis for several major bombings over the past year, including in the capital Ankara, and on tourists in Istanbul.
In tribute to the victims of the latest attack, the Eiffel Tower in Paris is to be illuminated in the colours of the Turkish flag.
The monument will be lit up in red and white at 11pm local time on Thursday.
Deputy Paris mayor Bruno Julliard said it would be “a reminder of the unbreakable support of the city of Paris” to the Turkish nation and to the victims of Tuesday’s attack.
On Wednesday, the image of the Turkish flag was projected on to several world sites including Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and Amsterdam's Royal Palace.
AP