Law enforcement in Turkey detained an ISIS militant who is believed to have been plotting a suicide bombing on the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, according to a government official.
The Associated Press reported:
The Syrian man was detained "in the past few days" at a bus station in the city of Kahramanmaras, close to the border with Syria, the official told The Associated Press. A court in Kahramanmaras ordered him jailed pending trial following questioning by anti-terror police. ... The state-run Anadolu Agency identified the suspect as Muhammed Raghil al-Hardani. It said Turkish intelligence established that al-Hardani had crossed into Turkey "a while ago" and planned to attack the consulate. The intelligence was shared with U.S. officials.
The arrest followed a possible security threat at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul last week that led the State Department to shut down services at the facility for the day.
On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara announced that it would limit operations until Wednesday because of a possible security threat and urged U.S. citizens in Turkey to maintain a "high level of vigilance."
Turkey was the site of suicide bombings in July and October that together killed 130 people. ISIS is believed to have been responsible for the attacks.