Türkiye detains foiled Istanbul terror attack suspects

Turkish police have detained two alleged members of the Islamic State terrorist group who planned to carry out a terrorist attack on New Year's Eve in Istanbul.

One of the men, codenamed Abu Maimuna, known as an expert on improvised explosives, posted several messages with appeals on social networks, Sabah newspaper reports.

The police found that the militants received instructions from ISIS and planned a "bloody" terrorist attack using explosives.

On the evening of December 31, two suspects, one of whom is a citizen of Uzbekistan and the other of Tajikistan, tried to leave the police officers who were following them in the Basaksehir district of Istanbul, but law enforcement officers shot through the wheels of their car.

One of the detainees was placed in custody, and deportation proceedings have been initiated against an Uzbek citizen.