国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Turkey foils IS attack in Istanbul after major defeats of jihadists in Syria, Ira_时事

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Turkey foils IS attack in Istanbul after major defeats of jihadists in Syria, Ira

ANKARA, Nov. 1 -- Since the expulsion of the Islamic State (IS) from its Syrian and Iraqi headquarters, hundreds of foreign fighters have reportedly returned home including Turkey, likely to be one of their future targets, despite intense counterterrorism activities.

Turkish anti-terror squads have led a massive crackdown against jihadist cells across Turkey, arresting some 150 suspects last weekend.

Some of them were seemingly planning bloody attacks in Istanbul, Turkey's most populated city and economic hub, on Oct. 29, Turkey's Republic Day.

During an investigation of two residences determined to be jihadist cells where fires had broken out on Oct. 28, two plotters were identified as Austrian citizens of Turkish origin, police said in a statement.

The police also found and raided two other cells in Istanbul, which have been identified to have been in the Arnavutkoy district on the European side of Istanbul for the past five years.

The news came after Istanbul police foiled a major planned IS bomb attack and brought down two very significant jihadist cells in the city one day prior to the Republic Day celebrations.

According to police, a car loaded with explosives and a bomb-laden motorcycle were found in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Istanbul's Bayrampasa district on Saturday.

"Objects used in bomb making, including chemical materials ... electronic circuits, cables, batteries and many other similar materials, were found in two houses," the police said in a written statement.