Turkish security forces arrested the three Uzbek suspects in the killing of a rabbi in the United Arab Emirates as they left an airport in Istanbul, local media reported Wednesday.

The arrest of the Uzbeks suspected of killing Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi Zvi Kogan highlights the transnational nature of the attack.

While no motive has been offered, Iran has used criminal gangs in the past to target dissidents and its enemies. Already, Tehran has threatened to retaliate against Israel as the two countries have exchanged fire during the Mideast wars — even as it has denied being involved in Kogan’s killing.

Both Istanbul police and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization detained the men after determining which flight they arrived on, allowing them to leave the airport before pulling over their taxi, Turkey’s Hürriyet and Sabah newspapers reported. The men then were immediately extradited to the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.