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CAIRO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said the Islamic State (IS) is "most likely" behind the triple suicide bombing attacks on Istanbul Ataturk Airport.
Tuesday's attack killed 44 people and injured more than 200 others. No group has claimed responsibility for the assault by far.
The three bombers were identified on Thursday as Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Russian nationals.
Two of the suicide bombers were identified as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, who both held Russian passports, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.
Turkish police have detained at least 33 suspected IS militants in relation to the bombings, including more than a dozen foreigners.
The attack is the latest in a spate of terror attacks that hit major Turkish cities in recent months.
The IS has claimed responsible for a suicide bomb attack in Istanbul on March 19 that killed five and a bomb attack in Istanbul on Jan. 12 that killed 10 people, including nine Germans.
Meanwhile, a series of attacks were carried out by Kurdish militant group, against which Turkish government is launching military attacks to prevent from expansion in northern Syria and Iraq.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a Kurdish militant group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has claimed responsible for a car bomb targeting a riot police shuttle bus, killing 11 people.
It also claimed to have carried out a car bomb attack on March 13 and an attack on a military van on Feb. 17.
Facing frequent attacks carried out by foreign terrorists and also domestic militants, Turkey is under great pressure fixing its deteriorating security situation.
Turkish security forces and the PKK resumed fighting in July last year in the country's southeast, ending a peace process that had lasted for more than two years.
Over 470 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq since last July.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.
Meanwhile, the People's Protection Units (YPG), which is seen as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, also a foe to the Turkish government, is not listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and is seen as a capable military force combating IS militants in Syria.
Turkey has also been repeatedly accused by the Syrian government of supporting the IS and other jihadi groups in Syria, and is said to be responsible for much of the bloodletting in Syria as a result of the foreign support to the terror groups.
Since last year, Turkey claimed to have enhanced its fight against terrorists, with media reports saying that the country arrested a total of 961 IS members from 57 countries and regions.
Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said his country had prevented 36,000 people suspected of being IS extremists from entering Turkey.
Experts say that these measures may trigger the revenge from terrorist organizations. Enditem
