Turkish Special Forces have arrested two suspected ISIS militants believed to have been plotting a suicide bomb attack on the country's capital of Ankara, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the pair, whose nationality was not disclosed, were apprehended as they were supposedly scouting attack locations in the Mamak district, reported The Guardian. They were planning to stage an attack at two points in Ankara's main Kizilay square: outside a big shopping mall and a street packed with pubs.
A bomb vest and a backpack "ready for use" containing iron marbles, sticks and other bomb-making materials were also seized during the arrest.
"Prosecutors in Ankara say two suspects who had crossed into Turkey from Syria were detained in the capital. Explosives and suicide belts were also seized. The explosives were to be fortified with steel balls and other objects intended to maximize the damage they could cause," says NPR's Peter Kenyon.
"Police say the two men were scouting locations in central Kizilay square and bars likely to be filled with year-end revelers. There are unconfirmed reports from Turkish media that the suspects are Turks who had traveled to Syria," he added.
News of this arrest comes as authorities in other countries report arresting extremists plotting terrorist attacks on New Year's Eve, or at least preparing for the possibility for such attacks. For example, this arrest comes a day after two people were arrested in Belgium under suspicion of plotting a holiday terror attack there.
Turkey, in particular, has been on high alert since October when a double suicide bombing blamed on ISIS killed 103 peace activists in Ankara, marking the deadliest attack in Turkey's modern history, according to NBC News.
Officials say the explosives seized in this arrest likely had the potential to yield a higher death toll than the one observed in October.
An investigation and interrogation into the attack plot is ongoing.
