The alleged organizer of the Istanbul airport massacre is a well known militant who served as a top lieutenant in ISIS’ war ministry, a U.S. official said.
Akhmed Chatayev, from Russia’s North Caucasus region, planned the attack, said rep Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Turkish media reported that a man nicknamed “Akhmed One-Arm” was behind the attack.
While Chayatev’s whereabouts are unknown, his ties to jihadist activities are well documented, McCaul said..
“He’s … probably the No. 1 enemy in the Northern Caucus region of Russia. He’s traveled to Syria on many occasions and became one of the top lieutenants for the minister of war for ISIS operations,” McCaul told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
At least 44 people died and more than 230 others were injured when three men stormed Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on Tuesday, and opened fire with rifles before detonating bombs. Two of the men targeted the international terminal building, and the third one gunned down people at the parking lot.
“We believe he (Chayatev) coordinated with the three suicide bombers in Istanbul to conduct this attack during the season of Ramadan,” McCaul said.
Last year, the U.S. Treasury added Chayatev to its list of terrorists, saying he was planing attacks against U.S. and Turkish facilities. The United Nations has said he directly commands 130 militants.
Officials believe the three attackers — identified by state media as from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan — entered Turkey a month ago from Syria’s ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.
Growing trend
McCaul said his information on the alleged planner came from Turkish intelligence. Turkish officials have not confirmed his involvement to CNN.
The allegation mirrors a growing trend of battle-hardened Russian fighters joining ISIS in recent years.
Chechnya has produced many fighters following the 1990s wars that pitted Russian forces against Chechen separatists.
Russians deployed brutal tactics in Chechnya, which radicalized the insurgents and moved them in a more Islamist and militant direction, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen said.
In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said between 5,000 to 7,000 fighters from Russia and the former Soviet republics are in Syria.
Citizens from the former Soviet republics hold leadership ranks in ISIS, Bergen said.
“Ask anybody inside ISIS or who’s fought ISIS. People from the former Soviet Union tend to be the most battle-hardened and willing to die,” said CNN contributor Michael Weiss, author of “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.”
ISIS leadership involved
Chayatev’s alleged connection may not be a surprise.
Turkish officials have strong evidence that ISIS leadership was involved in the planning of the Istanbul terrorist attack, a senior government source told CNN.
The three terrorists rented an apartment in the Fatih district of Istanbul after they arrived from Syria a month ago, officials said.
One of the attackers left behind his passport, according to a Turkish government source.
Turkish police visited the Fatih area and showed neighbors video and photographs of three men they say are believed to have carried out the attack, residents said.
One man who owns a real estate agency said one of the men in the picture had lived in his apartment.
No claim of responsibility
While no one has claimed responsibility for the airport assault, Weiss said the nationalities of the terrorists point to ISIS involvement.
“One of the toughest battalions in ISIS is called the Uzbek battalion,” he said. “These were the guys who were essentially on the front lines guarding Falluja, the city they just lost in Iraq.”
Suspects detained
Authorities have detained 22 people in connection with the attack, according to a Turkish official.
Thirteen were taken into custody in Istanbul and nine in the coastal city of Izmir, the official said. Three of those detained were foreign nationals, state media reported.
The tactic used in the airport attack — shooting, and then detonating explosives — is called “inghimasi,” and it’s being used more frequently by terrorists.
“The ‘inghimasi,’ their (modus operandi) on the ground in Syria and Iraq, is to shoot up checkpoints and then they actually — some of these guys actually run up to the enemy and hug them before detonating the bomb to take them out with themselves. So in a sense, the ultimate Kamikaze warrior,” Weiss said.
ISIS also has a history of airport attacks. It claimed responsibility for dual suicide bombings at the main airport in Brussels in March. At least 10 people died in those blasts.
Victims
Those killed in Istanbul came from all over the world, but most were Turkish, including 10 airport employees, TAV Airports CEO Sani Sener said.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said six Saudis were killed and dozens more wounded.
Other fatalities included nationals from Saudi Arabia, Iraqi, Tunisia, China, Iran, Ukraine, Jordan and Uzbekistan, a Turkish official said.
One U.S. citizen suffered “minor injuries,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday.