Istanbul airport police fire warning shots at suspected bomber

Police at Turkey's largest airport in Istanbul fired warning shots at a motorbike that failed to stop at a security checkpoint on Sunday.

The facility is on high alert after the deadly June attack blamed on militants, local officials said, while another bombing claimed by the Islamic State group on Friday killed ten people.

Both the driver and the passenger of the motorcycle at teh Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul were detained but no explosives or weapons were found on them.

The incident resulted in the brief closure of entrances to the airport as a precaution but it carried on working normally.

"Tonight two people on a motorbike who failed to stop were detained after police opened fire," Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin wrote on his Twitter account.

"No weapons or explosive materials were found on them. The airport is open to entrance and exit," he added.

According to the Anadolu agency, one of the suspects had a criminal record for theft and had been drinking.

After the shots were fired, they came off the bike and tried to run away but were caught by police.

A bag carried by one of the suspects was blown up in a controlled explosion by disposal experts but found to be empty, it added.

Security measures have been markedly stepped up at the airport following the 28 June triple suicide bombing and gun attacks blamed on Islamic State group militants that left 47 people dead.

Every vehicle entering the airport complex is now checked by security forces and it appears the motorbike failed to stop at one of these controls.

Turkey has for the last year been rattled by a sequence of attacks blamed both on militants and Kurdish militants, as well as the failed July coup.

In a separate security alert Sunday, the first bridge over the Bosphorus in Istanbul was shut to traffic when a man armed with a gun tried to commit suicide, the Hurriyet daily said. It has since reopened.