Authorities detained two suspects with alleged ties to ISIL as part of an investigation into a deadly attack on a police station in the western city of İzmir’s Balçova district that left three officers dead earlier this year.
The chief prosecutor’s office in the city had issued detention warrants for three people over the Sept. 8 attack, in which a 16-year-old identified as E.B. opened fire with a pump-action shotgun.
Police said H.K. was detained in İzmir and H.B. was taken into custody in Istanbul during coordinated raids at their homes. A third suspect, identified as İ.A., is believed to be abroad, and efforts to locate him were ongoing.
Authorities are investigating their links to E.B., who is thought to have connections to ISIL. Two police officers were killed at the scene, and two other officers and a civilian were wounded in the attack. The assailant was shot and subdued during the clash and later hospitalized. A third officer died at the hospital.
Police earlier detained 27 people during the investigation, including 16 minors who were questioned and released after giving statements.
E.B., along with his mother A.B. and father N.B., was referred to a court on terrorism-related charges and 11 other alleged offenses. The attacker and his father were arrested, while his mother was released under judicial control.
