Turkish police warn of possible Easter attacks

Police in Turkey have warned of possible Islamic State attacks against Christians and Jews over the Easter weekend, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported on Saturday.

The police issued a nationwide alert warning of possible attacks targeting churches during Easter on Sunday, as well as synagogues, according to the news agency.

The security alert came after the latest attack last Saturday that killed three Israelis and an Iranian in a busy Istanbul shopping hub, blamed by the Turkish authorities on a jihadist with links to the IS group.

IS has been blamed for four of the six bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a double suicide attack at a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October that left 103 people dead.

A radical offshoot of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed the other two attacks.

The police have warned that IS group members may have scouted out places of worship as well as consulates and embassies, saying that churches and synagogues especially in Ankara, as well as foundations belonging to non-Muslims, should be on their guard.