UPDATE- 4 Suspects in Istanbul bombing remanded into custody by Bulgarian court

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By Ihvan Radoykov

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AA) – Four suspects in last weekend’s deadly Istanbul terrorist attack were remanded into custody on Saturday by a Bulgarian court.

Earlier, Bulgaria detained five people – including three Moldovans and two Syrians – for suspected complicity the attack in Istanbul, Türkiye that killed six people.

At the hearing at a court in the capital Sofia, prosecutor Angel Kinev's claim that the defendants were linked to the terrorist attack was denied.

A SIM card found on Syrian Amran Abdulrami was consider insufficient as evidence. Abdulrami is believed to be an assistant of fugitive terrorist Bilal Hassan, who is wanted for the attack.

The suspects were ordered to remain into custody for illegally entering Bulgaria and suspected of involvement in human trafficking.

However, a Syrian woman, one of the suspects caught in Sofia, was left free due to health reasons.

The lawyers of the defendants said that they will appeal the decision next Thursday.

Kinev said legal aid was requested from other countries in order to prove the crimes of the defendants.

Siika Mileva, a spokesperson for the chief prosecutor, lauded Türkiye’s cooperation in the investigative process and said the suspects were mostly involved in logistical activities after the terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, Istanbul police counter-terrorism teams apprehended eight more suspects linked to the Nov. 13 terror attack.

The Turkish government said the attack on crowded Istiklal Avenue was carried out by the terrorist group PKK/YPG.

The perpetrator of the attack was apprehended by Turkish police, along with dozens of other suspects.

According to police, Alham Albashir confessed that she entered Türkiye illegally from the Syrian city of Afrin after receiving intelligence operative training from the YPG/PKK terror group.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the terror group’s Syrian offshoot.

* Written by Ahmet Gencturk and Seda Sevencan with Talha Ozturk