Connection to Istanbul attack?: Bulgaria arrests five terrorist suspects

Four men and one woman are arrested by Bulgarian authorities.

Connection to Istanbul attack?: Bulgaria arrests five terrorist suspects

Four men and one woman are arrested by Bulgarian authorities. They are accused of being involved in the attack in Istanbul less than a week ago. Smuggling and human trafficking are also said to be among their crimes. A court initially decides otherwise.

The Bulgarian public prosecutor's office has arrested five people who are said to be connected to the attack in Istanbul last Sunday that left six dead and around 80 injured. Chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev said they were accused of supporting acts of terrorism.

After investigations and in close cooperation with prosecutors in Turkey, Bulgarian special police arrested three men of Moldovan origin and a man and a woman of Syrian-Kurdish origin. They are also accused of smuggling and human trafficking. However, a Bulgarian court decided in the evening to keep the four men in custody on charges of human trafficking because there was not enough evidence to support terrorist activities. The woman had been waived because of her poor health on further detention.

On Friday, a Turkish court ordered 17 people to be held in custody. They are suspected of being involved in the attack. According to the authorities, among them is the suspected bomber, a Syrian citizen. No one has known about the fact so far. The Turkish government blames Kurdish fighters. Police have said the suspected bomber was trained by Kurdish fighters in Syria.