Ankara, AFP, 2 January 2016 – An Ankara court on Saturday remanded in custody pending trial two Turkish men suspected of belonging to ISIS and planning a double suicide bombing in the capital on New Year’s Eve.

The two who were detained in a raid on Wednesday, were arrested on charges of “possessing explosive materials” and “membership of a terrorist organisation”, the Anatolia news agency reported.

They were sent to the Sincan prison in Ankara, it added. It was not clear when a trial may start.

Turkish officials said the pair were planning to strike an area in the centre of the city that was expected to be packed with revellers on the night of December 31. In the end, the celebrations passed peacefully.

The Hurriyet daily reported that the pair had left Ankara in 2013 to join up with IS forces in Syria, where they received bomb-making training.