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Türkiye Arrests Suspected Istanbul Church Attack Planner Linked to ISIS

Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)
Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye Arrests Suspected Istanbul Church Attack Planner Linked to ISIS

Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)
Turkish police officers stand guard in a cordoned off area outside the Santa Maria church, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP)

Turkish authorities have arrested ISIS militant believed to be involved in planning an attack on the Santa Maria Italian Church in Istanbul earlier this year, the country's intelligence agency said on Saturday.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said the suspect, whom it identified as Viskhan Soltamatov, was believed to be the key figure behind the Jan. 28, 2024 attack. He was detained by MIT and police during a joint operation in Istanbul, the agency said, Reuters reported.

MIT said Soltamatov was also believed to have supplied the weapon used in the assault.

One Turkish citizen was killed by two ISIS gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January.

The church attack was orchestrated by ISIS-linked operatives from the group's Khorasan Province (ISKP), a faction active in Afghanistan. In April, Türkiye had arrested 48 people believed to be linked to the attack.

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WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
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WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo

The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania.
“We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.
Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg.
WHO said its risk assessment for the suspected outbreak in Tanzania is high at national and regional levels but low globally. There was no immediate comment from Tanzanian health authorities.
An outbreak of Marburg in Rwanda, first reported on Sept. 27, was declared over on Dec. 20. Rwandan officials reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected healthcare workers who handled the first patients.