Istanbul suicide bomber was teen widow of Norwegian ISIL jihadist
ILNA: A teenager from Russia’s region of Dagestan suspected to have carried out a suicide bombing in Istanbul was said Friday to have been the widow of a Norwegian jihadist who died fighting for the ISIL group in Syria.
A policeman and the female suicide bomber were killed in the attack on January ۶ in Sultanahmet, the heart of Istanbul’s tourist district and home to its greatest concentration of historic monuments.
Turkish authorities have so far refrained from naming the suicide bomber but reports in Turkey and Russia on Friday identified her as Diana Ramazanova, ۱۸, from the northern Caucasus region of Dagestan.
The Hurriyet daily said she was the widow of Abu Aluevitsj Edelbijev, a Norwegian citizen of Chechen origin. The pair were married last year in a religious ceremony, either in Istanbul or in Syria.
The report said that Ramazanova had entered Turkey on a tourist visa in May ۲۰۱۴ but Edelbijev may have entered the country illegally.
Last July the pair crossed the border from Turkey into Syria, joining ISIL jihadists who have seized large parts of Syria up to the Turkish border.
He took the name of Idris while she became known as Sumeyra, it said.
Edelbijev was killed in December while fighting. Ramazanova then crossed the border illegally back into Turkey on December ۲۶, before carrying out the suicide bombing in Istanbul on January ۶.
Hurriyet said security services are still trying to ascertain whether she had brought her explosives with her from Syria or whether they had been given to her by a contact in Istanbul.
She also took a vehicle to Istanbul from the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, an unusually long journey to have made by car which would have required logistical help.
In an interview with Norwegian television, Edelbijev’s family also said their daughter - in - law had been the suicide bomber and confirmed the relationship with their son.
" I don’t think she could take it anymore. She said that Abu was in peace and that she wanted peace too, " Edelbijev’s mother told Norwegian TV۲.
But Edelbijev’s mother also told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK that she had spoken with her daughter - in - law the day before the attack and " everything seemed normal ".
" There was nothing that suggested that this could happen. It was as much of a shock for us when she blew herself up as when my son decided to go to Syria. We’re struggling now, " Edelbijev’s mother added.