Turkish Interior Minister says a key suspect for Istiklal bombing caught

Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that the brother of Bilal Hassan, who posed as the bomber Ahlam Albashir’s husband was caught by Istanbul police in a statement he made in a chat room he joined on Twitter.

Soylu also claimed they seized the photographs of fake husband Hassan with YPG (People’s Protective Units) uniform.

The bomber Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian national, was detained in an overnight raid after the blast and she was later jailed pending trial along with other 17 suspects, but Bilal Hassan managed to leave Turkey, police said earlier.

Turkey blamed the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and the YPG for the bombing but both of the organizations denied involvement.

Mazlum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which also encompasses the YPG later said that Albashir was the sister of three Islamic State (ISIS) militants who died fighting for the terrorist organization.

Soylu also said militants from Northern Syria tried to penetrate Turkey using paramotors but failed and claimed that all the planning of the PKK was being done in Hasakah in northeast Syria which is currently being controlled by the SDF.

Six people were killed and 81 wounded in the Istiklal bombing which prompted Turkey to start a fierce air campaign against targets in Northern Syria.