Turkish special forces raided a house and detained two suspected Islamic State militants who were planning a suicide bombing during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Ankara, officials said Wednesday.
Authorities found suicide vests and explosive devices at the house in Ankara’s Mamak district, prosecutors told NBC News.
Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said the two were Pakistanis and that their detention let to the arrest of a third person, a British citizen, according to The Associated Press.
The two suspects, who were reportedly planning a suicide attack Thursday night, were arrested a day after two people were arrested in Belgium on suspicion of planning New Year’s terrorist attacks there.
Two suicide bombers, believed to be Islamic State militants, killed more than 100 people in Ankara in October.
The attacks prompted Turkish officials to ramp up security and increase efforts to tackle the militants who enter the country through the border with Syria.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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