Turkish police have detained 44 people suspected of planning terror attacks, local media reported on Thursday.

The detained also include two suspects who planned two Istanbul attacks last year, said Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin.

One suspect allegedly organized a suicide attack near a football stadium last December, killing 46 people. He carried out reconnaissance work before attack, and fled away shortly before the bomb detonated, the governor said.

Another detained was identified as the organizer of a car bomb attack on a police bus last July that killed 11 people, and wounded 36.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has claimed responsibility for both attacks.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, resumed its armed campaign against Turkish government since July 2015, in which about 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians were killed.

source: xinhua