The shooting in the Catholic Church of Istanbul on January 28 was carried out by militants of the so-called Tajik cell “Vilayat Khorasan” of the terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS). Those detained in connection with the attack, with the exception of three residents of Türkiye, are citizens of Tajikistan, according to the Yeni Safak newspaper, Report informs referring to TASS.

Earlier it was reported that one Russian and one citizen of Tajikistan who opened fire were detained a few hours after the incident in the Italian Church of St. Mary.

According to investigators, IS used so-called sleeper cells to carry out the violence. The attackers received orders to carry out an armed attack through social networks controlled by the terrorist group. The police seized digital media confirming the involvement of ISIS in the shooting at the temple; in addition, a car without license plates in which the attackers were traveling was found in the forest in the Gökturk district near Istanbul International Airport. One of the pistols used in the shooting was also found in disassembled form, which was converted into a combat pistol from a gas pistol.

According to information available to the intelligence services, the persons involved in the attack rented a house in the Guvercintepe area of Istanbul three months ago. Immigrants from Tajikistan who were taken into custody after the action also live there illegally. Some of the 28 suspects, who are in the Istanbul security department, planned attacks on New Year’s Day in Istanbul Orthodox churches, a synagogue and the Iraqi embassy. Local police prevented terror attacks on December 29, detaining 32 people.