Istanbul on high alert over threat of imminent suicide bombing

Large numbers of Turkish policemen launched a search of subway stations in central Istanbul on Thursday morning after the authorities received intelligence information that a suicide bomber was planning to attack one of the stations. Part of the city's public transportation system was halted and elite policemen with bomb-sniffing dogs checked the trains and the platforms. The police called on the public to remain alert and to stay away from crowded areas until further notice.