Turkish Media: 2 of 3 Istanbul Airport Suicide Bombers Identified

ISTANBUL (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Turkish media say authorities have determined the identities of two of three suicide bombers responsible for the Ataturk Airport attack that killed 44 people this week in Istanbul.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported Friday that the Bakirkoy Public Prosecutor's office had established the identity of two suspects in the course of investigations. The investigation into the third suspect's identity is ongoing.

Photos: Dozens Killed In Suicide Bomb Attack On Istanbul Airport

The identity of one suspect was determined through a photocopy of his passport, which he submitted to a realtor in order to rent a house in Istanbul's Fatih district. In addition, a computer that had been destroyed was been found in a trash bin near the apartment where the suicide bombers were staying. The police are trying to access the information on the computer.

The private Dogan news agency says two of the suspects were Russian nationals.

Swedish authorities say an ethnic Chechen identified as the organizer of the bombing was convicted of weapons smuggling in 2008.

The chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, along with Turkish and Swedish media, says Akhmed Chatayev directed the three suicide bombers who carried out the attack Tuesday. Chatayev's whereabouts are unclear.

The city court in the southern Sweden port city of Ystad says Chatayev was sentenced to 16 months for smuggling an automatic weapon and two handguns with munition and silencers into Sweden on March 3, 2008.

Court documents obtained by The Associated Press on Friday show Chatayev had arrived by ferry boat from Germany. He and two others in the car said they were heading to Norway to go fishing and meet friends.

Court documents show he denied knowing about the guns hidden in a spare wheel in the trunk. A local paper says he was freed from prison in January 2009.

Chechnya is the same Russian region that produced the Tsarnaev brothers who set off bombs at the Boston Marathon in 2013.

More than 230 people were wounded in the attack.

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