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The Istanbul suicide bomber was an ISIS member

Mar 20, 2016, 18:06 IST

Carnations and a sign are placed at the scene of a suicide bombing at Istiklal street, a major shopping and tourist district, in central Istanbul, Turkey March 20, 2016.Reuters

The Turkish government just identified the suicide bomber that struck a busy pedestrian street in the Turkish city of Istanbul this weekend as a member of ISIS.

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Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala said, at a news conference broadcast live on television, that the suicide bomber behind Saturday's attack was born in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep but was a member of the group that is also known as the Islamic State, ISIL and Daesh.

"We have determined that Mehmet Ozturk, born in 1992 in Gaziantep, has carried out the heinous attack on Saturday in Istanbul. It has been established that he is a member of Daesh," he said.

The explosion happened on Istanbul's central Istiklal Street - a popular shopping area - in the Beyoglu district on Saturday morning.

On Saturday, the city's governor, Vasip Sahin, confirmed five people were killed and at least 20 people were wounded an apparent suicide bombing attack. Sahin said four people were killed on the scene, while one person who was severely injured died later in hospital.

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The Turkish health minister said 12 foreigners were among the 36 injured in the bombing, CNN Turkey reported.

Photos on Twitter and pictures published by news agencies show wreckage and grim images of people lying on the floor, severely injured in the street.

The explosion follows two recent suicide bomb attacks in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, which were claimed by Kuridsh militant group TAK.

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