Istanbul: Turkey today detained 11 more suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) group on suspicion of planning an attack on the US consulate in Istanbul, the Dogan news agency reported.
Those arrested are all Syrians with fake passports and include a man described as the ringleader and named as 18-year-old Abdulaziz Amin Mojbil, the agency said. The arrests took place in early morning raids in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.
Turkey earlier this week already arrested an alleged IS member suspected of planning a suicide attack on the US consulate in Istanbul.
Intelligence about the planned attack prompted the partial closure of the consulate on December 9, when it offered only limited services with a scaled-down staffing.
Istanbul is on high alert for attacks following three deadly bombings blamed on the IS jihadist group in Ankara and the southeast of the country this year.