Bulgaria arrests 5 in connection with Istanbul blast

Bulgaria has charged five people in connection with a blast in central Istanbul, prosecutors said on Saturday.

The explosion killed six people and injured 80 on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue on November 13.

What did Bulgarian prosecutors say?

Three men of Moldovan origin and a man and woman of Syrian Kurdish descent were detained by Bulgarian special police forces earlier this week, Reuters cited chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev as saying.

Geshev told Reuters that the suspects were charged with "supporting terrorist acts in another country" and "human trafficking." He said Turkish prosecutors had asked for some of the suspects to be extradited.

Siika Mileva, the spokesperson for the General Prosecutor's Office, said the suspects were accused of providing "logistical assistance" to help one of the people involved in the bombing flee.

What else has occurred in the investigations?

Turkey's state Anadolu news agency reported that anti-terror police on Saturday had detained a further eight people suspected of assisting those who carried out the bombing.

On Friday, a Turkish court ordered the detention of 17 people suspected of involvement in the blast, including the suspected bomber, a Syrian national. The 17 suspects are accused of attempts against the unity of the state, deliberate killings and attempts to kill.

Anadolu said the court released three suspects from custody pending trial, and ordered the deportation of 29 people who were rounded up by police.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. The Turkish government has blamed militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party and its Syrian affiliate, the People's Defense Units. Both groups have denied involvement.

sdi/kb (Reuters, AP)