A suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) member was detained on Friday in Istanbul, along with 20 kilograms of plastic explosives that police believe that the suspect was planning to use in an attack. The seizure of explosives was part of an ongoing operation following the capture of an individual with 1.5 kilograms of plastic explosives connected to a remote control mechanism last month in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul – the city's main tourist district, an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The PKK is believed to have been behind two bombings this summer in the Aegean tourist resorts of Çeşme and Kuşadası that killed five and injured dozens more.