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Israel says Istanbul terror attack targeted Israelis

Xinhua, April 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

The terror attack in Turkey on March 19 had specifically targeted Israeli nationals, Israel's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement it would recognize the three killed Israelis as victims of a terror attack, as there is "probable grounds" to assume that the attack had specifically targeted Israelis.

The ministry's announcement contradicts a statement made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said last week in Washington that the attack did not solely target Israelis. An Iranian man was also killed in the attack.

The decision means that the families of the deceased and the 11 injured in the attack will receive financial compensation from the state.

Israeli and Turkish authorities cooperated following late March's attack, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying officials from both countries are examining whether the attack directed at Israelis.

Turkish authorities have identified the attacker as a member of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

A week after the Istanbul attack, the Israeli National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau changed the travel warning to Turkey from "basic concrete threat" to "high threat", urging Israelis traveling in Turkey to leave it as soon as possible.

"The deadly attack underscores the threat by the IS against tourists throughout Turkey, and proves high capabilities of carrying out further attacks," the bureau said in a statement.

Turkey had been mired in terror attacks in the past several months, carried out by the IS members as well as Kurdish separatists.

Israel has been facing a wave of violence since October, which has claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and more than 190 Palestinians.

Cooperation between Israeli and Turkish authorities comes as the two countries seek to reach an agreement to end the six years of hostility between them.

In May 2010, a Gaza-bound flotilla was raided by the Israeli navy, resulting in the deaths of nine Turkish citizens.

The incident deteriorated the bilateral relations, along with the Israeli military campaigns against the Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Turkish asylum for Hamas operatives.

The road to reconciliation was paved in 2013, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Erdogan for the 2010 incident over a phone call, at the request of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Since then, Israeli and Turkish teams have met to ink out an agreement, with delegates slated for an upcoming meeting on Thursday, Israeli media reported, which is expected to advance the negotiations into the final stage. Endit