UPDATE - Daesh terrorist captured dead in Ankara

UPDATES WITH OFFICIAL STATEMENT, BACKGROUND, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Alp Ertunga Karaca, Sertac Bulur and Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA (AA) - A suspected Daesh terrorist who was killed during a police raid in capital Ankara in the early hours of Wednesday has been identified as a man from southeast Turkey.

The governor of Ankara province, Ercan Topaca, said 24-year-old Ahmet B. from Diyarbakir province had intended to carry out a suicide attack in the capital and had been spotted visiting Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, on three occasions as well as the former parliament building.

Both are sites for forthcoming events -- Republic Day on Oct. 29 and the anniversary of Ataturk’s death on Nov. 10.

Turkey’s intelligence agency recently issued a warning of possible imminent attacks by Daesh in five provinces, including Ankara, and on Monday Topaca’s office issued a ban on public gatherings until Nov. 30 due to the terror threat. However, Republic Day and the anniversary were not included in the ban.

Topaca said the suspect had been tracked to an address in Etimesgut, a district to the west of Ankara city center that mainly comprises of large public housing projects, after his links to Daesh were uncovered.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said the suspect failed to respond to calls to surrender during the 3 a.m. local time (0000GMT) raid and was killed.

A large quantity of explosives was found in his home, including gelignite, TNT and around 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of ammonium nitrate, a compound mainly used as a fertilizer but often added to homemade bombs, the official added.

Turkey has suffered numerous Daesh suicide bomb attacks over the past 12 months, including the attack on a peace rally in October last year that killed more than 100. On Sunday, three police officers were killed in an explosion as they raided an address linked to Daesh terrorists in Gaziantep, southern Turkey.

The terror group is being targeted in Syria by Turkey, which in August launched an operation to clear Daesh from the border region.