Bulgarian prosecutors charged five people with supporting terrorist acts in connection with an explosion in central Istanbul that killed six people on November 13, the country’s chief prosecutor, Ivan Gesev, said on Saturday.

A person was detained in Bulgaria in connection with the terrorist attack in IstanbulPhoto: Mykola DOYCHINOV / AFP / Profimedia

Three men of Moldovan origin and a man and a woman of Syrian Kurdish origin were detained by Bulgarian special police units earlier this week following an investigation and close cooperation with Turkish prosecutors, Geshev said, according to News.ro.

“Five people were charged. The accusations are divided into two groups – in support of terrorist attacks from another country, namely the terrorist attack in Istanbul, and in human trafficking. These people were mainly engaged in human trafficking across the border (with neighboring Turkey) and smuggling,” said Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev.

According to him, prosecutors will turn to the Bulgarian court on Saturday with a request to detain the four men, while they will look for another option for the woman due to her poor health.

Geshev added that the Turkish prosecutor’s office has already demanded the extradition of some of the alleged accomplices of the explosion.

On Friday, a Turkish court ordered the pretrial detention of 17 people suspected of involvement in the bombing, including the alleged attacker, whom police identified as Syrian national Ahlam Albashir.

No group claimed responsibility for the blast, which also injured more than 80 people on Istiklal Boulevard, a busy and historic pedestrian street.

The Turkish government quickly blamed the blast on Kurdish militants, and police said the suspected attacker had been trained by Kurdish fighters in Syria.

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