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Istanbul airport bombers ‘planned hostage-taking’

– ‘Like bandits’ –

Turkey has been rocked by a series of attacks in the past year blamed on either IS jihadists or Kurdish rebels.

These have taken a heavy hit on tourism, and on Friday Germany warned its citizens to exercise particular caution if they travel to Turkey.

The latest assault sparked global condemnation, with consuls from a dozen countries around Europe and beyond gathering at the airport Friday to lay a wreath.

Hundreds of mourners also gathered in Istanbul on Thursday for the funeral of popular 28-year-old teacher Huseyin Tunc, who was at the airport welcoming a friend.

“We still can’t believe it,” one of his pupils, Batuhan Karabey, told AFP.

“He was more than a teacher to us – he was like a big brother, helping us a lot.”

Hurriyet reported the bombers had rented a flat in Istanbul’s Fatih district and paid 24,000 Turkish lira ($8,300, 7,500 euros) in advance for a year’s rent.

The police raided the apartment after the attack, according to an upstairs neighbour, who said the men kept the curtains closed.

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She never saw the attackers, but she heard them, and complained to neighbourhood officials about a strange smell.

“A very weird, chemical smell,” she told Hurriyet.

“Police came after the bombing… I lived on top of the bomb.”

Hurriyet also quoted a local plumber, identified only by his initials E.S., who said one of the attackers came to his shop to ask if he could fix their tap.

“He spoke in broken Turkish. He took me home,” the plumber said.

“I changed the tap. I saw three people inside. They looked like bandits – one of them always stood by me.”

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