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Turkey Detains 3 Russians After Istanbul Bombing

Police officers secure the area after an explosion near the Ottoman-era Sultanahmet mosque, known as the Blue mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 12, 2016.

Three Russian nationals have been detained by Turkish police after a series of raids against Islamic State insurgents following Tuesday's suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed 10 tourists, the media reported Wednesday.

The Russians were detained in the Turkish city of Antalya and are suspected of providing logistical support to the Islamic State, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported Wednesday. The police seized a number of digital documents during a search of the house where the three were staying, the agency reported.

Russian Consul General Alexander Tolstopyatenko on Wednesday confirmed the information about the detention of three Russian nationals and said the reasons for their detention were being determined, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

The raids were launched after a suicide bombing in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district. The explosion killed 10 foreign tourists, mostly German nationals, and wounded 15 people, according to the Interfax news agency.

Turkish authorities claim that the Islamic State, a terrorist organization banned in Russia, was responsible for the attack.

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