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Two males accused of a terrorist assault on a Moscow live performance corridor had frolicked in Istanbul weeks earlier than the assault, a senior Turkish safety official mentioned Tuesday, including that the brevity of the lads's visits confirmed they have been radicalized in Turkey. Weren’t.
This info got here on the identical day when Turkish Inside Minister Ali Yerlikaya mentioned, written on platform x Turkish safety providers have arrested 147 folks accused of hyperlinks to Islamic State since final June.
Mr Yerlikaya didn’t say what number of suspects had been captured since final week's Moscow live performance corridor assault or whether or not any of these arrested earlier have been believed to be linked to that assault. Islamic State has taken accountability for the assault.
Saidakrmi Rachablizoda, one of many assault suspects who had traveled to Turkey, arrived in Istanbul on January 5 and spent 16 days in a resort within the metropolis's Fatih district, mentioned the senior safety official, who spoke on situation of anonymity because of authorities protocol. He left for Moscow on March 2, the official mentioned.
The official didn’t say whether or not the lads's time in Turkey was linked to planning or preparation for the assault, however mentioned Turkish safety providers had assessed that the lads had already been radicalized earlier than reaching Turkey. Each males have been from Tajikistan, however have been residing in Russia as migrant staff.
One other suspect, Shamsedin Fariduni, entered Turkey from Russia on February 20 and informed Turkish authorities he traveled as a result of his Russian visa had expired and he needed to go away the nation, the official mentioned. He stayed in a resort for six days in late February and through that point posted pictures on social media of what seemed to be a historic Istanbul mosque in the identical district the place Mr. Rachablizoda stayed, the official mentioned.
Mr Faridouni returned to Moscow on March 2 on the identical flight as Mr Rachablizoda. The official mentioned the 2 males had traveled freely between Russia and Turkey as there have been no arrest warrants for both of them.
Regardless of being a member of NATO, Turkey has maintained good relations with Russia in the course of the conflict in Ukraine. There are a number of direct flights each day between Russia and Türkiye.
On the peak of Islamic State's management in Iraq and Syria, the terrorist group carried out a number of lethal assaults inside Turkey, however such assaults have turn into uncommon in recent times and Turkish safety providers usually publicize their efforts to disrupt terrorist networks. Are.