Turks, Belgians report foiling plans for holiday attacks
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — With less than 48 hours left in 2015, Turkey on Wednesday became the latest country to announce the foiling of a holiday attack plot, detaining two suspected Islamic State militants believed to be planning suicide bombings during New Year celebrations in the capital city's heart.
The men were detained in a raid on a house in the low-income Mamak neighborhood, where police seized a suicide vest armed with a bomb, a second explosive device that was fortified with ball bearings and metal sticks and concealed inside a back pack, as well as bomb-making equipment, according to the prosecutor's office.
The state-run Anadolu Agency, quoting unnamed police and judiciary officials, said the would-be bombers had intended to blow themselves up during holiday festivities at bars and a shopping mall in the central Kizilay district.
The arrest of two suspects was announced Tuesday by the Federal Prosecutor's Office, along with the seizure of military-style training uniforms, computer equipment and propaganda materials from the Islamic State.
An official close to the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing, told The Associated Press both suspects belong to a motorcycle club, the Kamikaze Riders, which is known for illegal stunts on public roads.
Belgium has been one of Europe's leading recruiting grounds for foreign jihadi fighters, and was home to four of the Nov. 13 attackers who killed 130 people in Paris, including suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud and fugitive Salah Abdeslam.
On Wednesday, another police search linked to the Paris attacks was carried out in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, and a person detained for questioning, said Thierry Werts, a spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
In Morocco, officials have doubled down on security ahead of New Year's festivities as intelligence services play a central role in Europe's effort to uncover ext