Turkish police arrest 5 more over Izmir terror attack

By Mustafa Yildirim

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - Turkish police arrested Tuesday five more suspects linked to last week's gun-and-bomb terrorist attack which killed two officials in western Izmir province, a security source said.

The suspects were arrested in an early morning operation, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Tuesday's arrests bring up to 23 the total number of people taken into custody in relation with the attack.

The attack occurred just outside a courthouse when police officer Fethi Sekin stopped a suspicious vehicle, which turned out to be carrying explosives.

The ensuing clash and a car-bomb attack left Sekin and a court official martyred and five others injured as a bigger blast involving another vehicle was thwarted, according to Governor Erol Ayyildiz.

Turkey has suffered several terrorist attacks over the last month. On Dec. 10, a twin bomb attack in Istanbul by the PKK terrorist group left 46 people -- mostly police officers – martyred.

A week later, a suicide car bomb attack by the PKK hit a public bus in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri, martyring 14 soldiers.

On Jan. 1, an armed attack on a nightclub in Istanbul during the New Year celebrations martyred 39 people.