2 terror plots foiled in Istanbul

Istanbul, Aug 4 (IANS) Turkish counterterrorism police have foiled two plots to launch terror attacks in the biggest city of Istanbul, local media reported.

Police arrested two suspects who entered a shopping centre in the Bayrampasa district with explosives, reports Xinhua news agency.

One of the suspects carried a bag that suddenly caught fire while they were walking through the shopping centre, the daily Hurriyet reported.

The two suspects, affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Turkey, admitted that they planned to leave the bag with explosives in a store.

In another operation, police detained 11 suspects for plotting to start a forest fire by placing three devices susceptible to the heat in a forest area in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul, the Hurriyet reported.