Istanbul suicide bomber identified as Saudi, not Syrian, as previously speculated

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) suicide bomber who killed 10 tourists by blowing himself up in Istanbul’s touristic Sultanahmet Square has been identified as a Saudi national who recently appealed to a district directorate of migration management to seek asylum in Turkey.

The bomber, identified as 28-year-old Nabil Fadli, applied for asylum to the Zeytinburnu Migration Management Directorate in the Istanbul district on Jan. 5, security sources said.

According to reports, the man arrived at the center alongside four other men and remained in his declared address for a few days.

Fadli’s identity was uncovered as crime scene investigators found one of the militant’s finger tips at the site of the explosion.

Police are continuing an extensive investigation to apprehend Fadli’s accomplices, as well as the men who accompanied him on Jan. 5.

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