(Zaman Al Wasl- Reuters)- Nabil Abdul latif al-Fadli, a Saudi-born Syrian who killed 10 German tourists in a suicide bombing in Istanbul, was planning a major attack on New Year's Eve celebrations in Ankara but changed targets after the plot was foiled, two senior Turkish officials have told Reuters.
Al-Fadli, born in Saudi Arabia in 1988 where his father was teaching, fought in the ranks of Islamic State in Syria and was at one stage captured and tortured, possibly by a Syrian Kurdish militia, before entering Turkey last month, the officials said. A Kurdish official in Syria denied he had entered Kurdish hands.
Al-Fadli registered as refugee with authorities in Istanbul on Jan. 5 before blowing himself up a week later among groups of tourists in Sultanahmet Square near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, striking at the heart of Turkey's tourism industry.
Turkish tanks and artillery have bombarded Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq in response to Tuesday's attack and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has vowed air strikes will follow if necessary.
Officials working to piece together al-Fadli's movements before the bombing said his plans had changed after two of his accomplices were caught preparing a suicide attack on a square in Ankara where crowds gather to celebrate the New Year.
At the time, Fadli himself had not raised any red flags with the authorities because he was not on any Turkish or international watch lists of militant suspects.
"He was in a group which was planning in particular a big attack for New Year’s Eve celebrations in Ankara. After the Ankara police unit’s work ... we think he changed cities to carry out a different attack," a senior security official said.
Al-Fadhli, who was born in Aleppo for a Christian mother, Bregenitte, from the Armenian community, was wanted by the criminal directorate in Aleppo as well as he was wanted by the military intelligence for evading military service, according to document dated in 2012 and obtained by Zaman al-Wasl.
TORTURED IN SYRIA
Fadli's movements in Syria in the months before he entered Turkey on Dec. 18 are unclear, but Turkish officials said there was no question he had fought in the ranks of Islamic State.
His father's job as a teacher took the family to Saudi Arabia, where Fadli was born, but they returned to Syria after his father's work there ended. Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman General Mansour Turki said Fadli had not returned to Saudi Arabia since leaving the country in 1996.
In a posting on Facebook, a man identifying himself as Mohammad Bakir Hussein, a dental technician who had been at the same institute as al-Fadli, said his mother was from Aleppo and of Armenian origin and that he had lived in the Islamic State-held town of Manbij.
Hussein described Fadli, who he said had been a body-building coach, as an "upstanding and very respectable person" and said he could not imagine what had led him to join Islamic State. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the post, which was dated Jan. 13.
A Syrian activist who splits his time between Saudi Arabia and Istanbul told Reuters that Fadli had begun fighting two years ago in the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, one of several factions battling Syrian government forces, but that like many others he had later left to join the ranks of Islamic State.
Al-Fadli, born in Saudi Arabia in 1988 where his father was teaching, fought in the ranks of Islamic State in Syria and was at one stage captured and tortured, possibly by a Syrian Kurdish militia, before entering Turkey last month, the officials said. A Kurdish official in Syria denied he had entered Kurdish hands.
Al-Fadli registered as refugee with authorities in Istanbul on Jan. 5 before blowing himself up a week later among groups of tourists in Sultanahmet Square near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, striking at the heart of Turkey's tourism industry.
Turkish tanks and artillery have bombarded Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq in response to Tuesday's attack and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has vowed air strikes will follow if necessary.
Officials working to piece together al-Fadli's movements before the bombing said his plans had changed after two of his accomplices were caught preparing a suicide attack on a square in Ankara where crowds gather to celebrate the New Year.
At the time, Fadli himself had not raised any red flags with the authorities because he was not on any Turkish or international watch lists of militant suspects.
"He was in a group which was planning in particular a big attack for New Year’s Eve celebrations in Ankara. After the Ankara police unit’s work ... we think he changed cities to carry out a different attack," a senior security official said.
Al-Fadhli, who was born in Aleppo for a Christian mother, Bregenitte, from the Armenian community, was wanted by the criminal directorate in Aleppo as well as he was wanted by the military intelligence for evading military service, according to document dated in 2012 and obtained by Zaman al-Wasl.
TORTURED IN SYRIA
Fadli's movements in Syria in the months before he entered Turkey on Dec. 18 are unclear, but Turkish officials said there was no question he had fought in the ranks of Islamic State.
His father's job as a teacher took the family to Saudi Arabia, where Fadli was born, but they returned to Syria after his father's work there ended. Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman General Mansour Turki said Fadli had not returned to Saudi Arabia since leaving the country in 1996.
In a posting on Facebook, a man identifying himself as Mohammad Bakir Hussein, a dental technician who had been at the same institute as al-Fadli, said his mother was from Aleppo and of Armenian origin and that he had lived in the Islamic State-held town of Manbij.
Hussein described Fadli, who he said had been a body-building coach, as an "upstanding and very respectable person" and said he could not imagine what had led him to join Islamic State. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the post, which was dated Jan. 13.
A Syrian activist who splits his time between Saudi Arabia and Istanbul told Reuters that Fadli had begun fighting two years ago in the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, one of several factions battling Syrian government forces, but that like many others he had later left to join the ranks of Islamic State.
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