Turkey foils dozens of attack plots says deputy PM

ANKARA

Turkish security forces have foiled almost 50 would-be suicide attacks in the country since January, a senior government minister has said.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday that out of a total of 85 foiled attacks, 49 were suicide plots.

Speaking to the media following a cabinet meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace in capital Ankara, Kurtulmus the efforts to foil such attacks were seen as a "highly important measure in terms of fighting terrorism in Turkey".

Speaking separately on Monday, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said forensic evidence had revealed the identity of a female suicide bomber who blew herself up in a Turkish city last week.

Ala said 24-year-old Eser Cali had been a member of the terrorist PKK group.

Turkey has been scene of a series of suicide bomb attacks from both Daesh and PKK terrorist organizations this year.

Turkey takes part in an international coalition against the Daesh group and has also been fighting the PKK which resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state last July.

Last week’s attack in Bursa targeted the entrance of a historic bazaar in the northwestern city, killing the bomber and injuring 20 people.

In mid-March, a car bomb targeted a major transport hub in the capital which includes Ankara’s busiest metro station and dozens of bus stops. The blast left 37 people dead and dozens of others injured.