Investigators ID 2 of 3 bombers in Istanbul airport attack, Turkish media say

Turkish media say authorities have determined the identities of two of three suicide bombers responsible for the Ataturk Airport attack that killed 44 people this week in Istanbul.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported Friday that the Bakirkoy Public Prosecutor's office had established the identity of two suspects. The investigation into the third suspect's identity is ongoing.

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The identity of one suspect was determined through a photocopy of his passport, which he submitted to a realtor in order to rent a house in Istanbul's Fatih district. In addition, a computer that had been destroyed was found in a trash bin near the apartment where the suicide bombers were staying. The police are trying to access the information on the computer.

The private Dogan news agency says two of the suspects were Russian nationals.

The suspects were named as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov by Kyrgyzstan'sForeign Ministry, citing its consulate in Istanbul. It provided no other details.

Their place is in hell.- Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish president

The names emerge amid unconfirmed reports the attack was masterminded by Chechen extremist Akhmed Chatayev.

Turkish and Swedish media have identified Chatayev as the organizer, although Turkish authorities have not confirmed his involvement.

A U.S. congressman Republican RepresentativeMichael McCaul, chair of the House committee on homeland security on Friday also said Chatayev was behind the plot.

McCaul, of Texas,told CNN thatChatayev's whereabouts are unclear,but he is known to have served as a top lieutenant in the war ministry of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

ISIS 'probably' to blame

Turkish authorities have blamed the attack on ISIS, though the group has not claimed credit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganon Fridayrepeated that ISIS "most probably" was behind the attack, adding that its militants would end up "in hell."

Speaking in Istanbul following Friday prayers, Erdogan said the extremist group claims to carry out acts in the name of Islam, but said it has nothing to do with the religion.

"They have no connection to Islam. Their place is in hell," he said.

"These people were innocent; they were children, women, elderly They embarked on a journey unaware, and came face to face with death. You have no such right," Erdogan said.

More arrests

Meanwhile,Turkish police detained 11foreigners suspected of being members of an ISIScellin Istanbul linked to the bombers, broadcaster Haberturk saidon its website on Friday.

The arrests in the dawn raid, by a counter-terror policesquad in the Basaksehir district on the European side of thecity, brought the number of people detained in the investigationto 24, it said.

A police spokesman could not confirm the report, which wasalso carried by other media.

Three suspected ISIS suicide bombers killed 44people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul's main airport onTuesday, the deadliest in a string of attacks in Turkey thisyear.

The suspected bombers were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyznationals, a Turkish government official said on Thursday.

Separately, security forces on Wednesday detained fourTurkish citizens at the Oncupinar border gate in southeastTurkey on suspicion of membership in a terrorist group, thelocal governor's office said in a statement.

The four were attempting to return to Turkey from a conflictzone in Syria under ISIS control, it said.

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