Bulgaria detains 5 suspects in deadly Istanbul bombing

SOFIA

Police in Bulgaria have detained five people in connection with the bombing that killed six people in Turkey's largest city last weekend, the Bulgarian prosecution service said on Nov. 19. 

The detained individuals were charged with helping one of the people who carried out the Nov. 13 bombing on a busy Istanbul street, Siika Mileva, a spokesperson for Bulgaria's chief prosecutor, said.

They are accused of providing “logistical assistance” to help the person flee, but Mileva did not say whether that suspect remained at large.

The nationalities and identities of the people held in Bulgaria were not given.

Anti-terrorism police in Istanbul had detained eight others suspected of assisting those who carried out the bombing.

On Friday, a Turkish court ordered 17 suspects, including Syrian national Ahlam Albashir who planted the bomb, jailed pending trial, accusing them of attempts against the unity of the state, deliberate killings and attempts to kill.

Bashir reportedly stated in her interrogation that she was trained as a “special intelligence officer” by the PKK/YPG that she joined.

“We assess that the order for the deadly terror attack came from Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria, where the PKK/YPG has its Syrian headquarters,” Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said earlier.

The bomb that exploded on Istanbul’s bustling Istiklal Avenue killed six people, including two children. More than 80 others were wounded.