Turkish police capture suspect in Istanbul rocket attacks: Police sources

Turkish police securing the area after a rocket attack near the police headquarters in Istanbul on Jan 20, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

ANKARA (REUTERS) - Turkish authorities captured a man believed to be among those responsible for rocket attacks on the Istanbul police headquarters and the offices of the ruling AK Party, police sources said on Sunday (Jan 22).

Armed assailants attacked Istanbul's police headquarters and an office of the ruling AK Party with rocket launchers on Friday evening. There were no reports of casualties from the attacks.

Police sources said the suspect, identified on Saturday as a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C), was captured in the north-western province of Tekirdag, along with a gun and a grenade.

He is also believed to be behind an assault on police in Istanbul on Saturday, the sources said.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the attacks.

The police sources said questioning of five other suspects detained in Istanbul on Saturday in relation to Friday's attacks was continuing.

The outlawed DHKP-C is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. It has staged suicide attacks against Turkish police and the US Embassy in recent years.

Nato member Turkey has been hit by a spate of bombings and shootings in the past year, including a twin bombing claimed by Kurdish militants outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Dec 10 that killed 44 people.

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