Police stopped Istanbul suicide bombers from killing more after they noticed they were wearing thick jackets despite the heat
Padded coats in 25C heat gave airport terrorists away, allowing police to intervene sooner
MORE people would have died in the Istanbul airport attack if police had not become suspicious of three men in padded jackets on a 25C evening.
Cops thought the trio who turned out to be suicide bombers might be pickpockets.
One officer sent colleagues the WhatsApp message: “Why are they wandering around with those heavy jackets in this weather.
"Are they thieves? Follow them.”
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An officer confronted one and was shot.
One bomber ran into the departures hall and detonated his suicide vest.
The second blew himself up in arrivals and the third outside the airport doors.
The attack on Tuesday killed 44 people and injured more than 200.
Sources said the men, from Dagestan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, arrived from an IS training camp.
No group has admitted responsibility yet but the attack is similar to the one carried out by IS at Brussels airport in March.
Interior Minister Efkan Ala said initial evidence pointed to IS being responsible.
In raids across the country yesterday cops arrested a further 20 people in connection with the airport attack.