Reports: Turkish forces kill mastermind of February attack

As Turkey continued the investigation into the triple suicide bombings that killed 44 people at Istanbul’s main airport, security forces killed the mastermind of a previous attack in the country's capital, according to media reports.

Mehmet Sirin Kocakaya, codename "Sirin," was “neutralized” Thursday by the Turkish military and police in Diyarbakir, a southeastern province whose population is mainly Kurdish, the semi-official Anadolu news agency reported.

He was involved in a bombing targeting military personnel that killed 29 people in Ankara on Feb. 17, that was claimed by an offshoot of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization, the Associated Press reported.

The three suicide bombers who attacked the Ataturk airport in Istanbul late Tuesday were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a senior Turkish official said Thursday. The dead include 19 foreign nationals and 230 people were injured. Authorities believe the Islamic State is behind the attack. No group has claimed responsibility.

Authorities imposed a temporary news blackout within Turkey on Friday on information concerning the investigation, the AP reported. Swedish authorities said Akhmed Chatayev, an ethnic Chechen identified as having directed the three bombers, was jailed in 2008 for smuggling an automatic weapon and two handguns into Sweden, according to the news agency. Chatayev's whereabouts are unclear.

Counter-terror teams launched 16 simultaneous raids in Istanbul on Thursday, Reuters said. Turkish police said they detained 13 people, including three foreign nationals, in connection with the attack, local media reported.

Contributing: Doug Stanglin