A suspected Islamic State militant planning what Turkish authorities have labeled “a sensational attack” was detained in Istanbul, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Tuesday. Details were scant; the militant, identified solely by the initials H.S., was apprehended in a raid on a hotel in the city’s Kucukcekmece suburb. The man’s nationality was not revealed but he had crossed illegally in to the border province of Gaziantep from Syria and was in possession of an automatic rifle, ammunition and spare magazines. He had staked out Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, frequented by tourists and home to numerous bars, in apparent preparation for the attack, Anadolu reported.
Police detained six other suspected IS militants in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri in dawn raids, the English-language Daily Sabah reported.