ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A suicide bomber opened fire on Turkish police and then blew himself up during their raid on a suspect Islamic State militant hideout near the border with Syria, injuring five police officers as G-20 leaders were gathering for a summit, authorities said Sunday.
The Gaziantep governor’s office said the suicide bomber died in the raid late Saturday on the fifth-floor apartment in Gaziantep city. Two women were detained while three children were being placed in protection.
Police seized explosive materials and several machine guns during the raid, the statement said.
The raid came hours after Turkish soldiers clashed with IS militants who fired at them near Gaziantep. Four militants were killed.
It was not clear if the two incidents were connected.
Meanwhile, at least seven suspected militants were picked up in Ankara early Sunday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
G-20 leaders are meeting near the Mediterranean city of Antalya, 700 kilometers (400 miles) west of Gaziantep for a summit overshadowed by the Paris attacks. The war in Syria and extremist terrorism, including by the Islamic State group, were already high on the G-20 agenda but the Paris attacks that killed 129 people Friday night have added new urgency to the G-20 talks.
The IS group has claimed responsibility for the latest Paris attacks and is blamed for two massive bombings in Turkey — one in the Syrian border town of Suruc and another in Ankara — that killed about 130 people in July and October.
Turkey has carried out sweeps against suspected IS militants in the weeks leading to the summit, detaining dozens of people, including 20 suspects nabbed in and around Antalya
