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Europe
Al-Qaeda Suspect ‘Upset’ by 2003 Istanbul Bombs
2005-10-11
A Turkish Al-Qaeda suspect held by US forces in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison said in a statement read out in court yesterday he was saddened by a series of Istanbul suicide bombings that killed scores of people in 2003. A Turkish cell of Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network claimed responsibility for the truck bomb attacks in November 2003 on two synagogues, the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC Bank and the British consulate.

The Istanbul court is hearing charges against 71 suspected Islamist militants in connection with the attacks which killed 61 people, including the bombers, and wounded hundreds more. Burhan Kus said he had traveled to Syria before the bombings on orders from Syrian suspected militant Luia Sakra, known as Abu Mohammed, and Habip Akdas, a Turkish associate. “When we got to Abu Mohammed’s house, Habip Akdas was watching television intensely,” Kus said in the statement obtained by Turkish investigators who had visited him in jail to take testimonies. “When they saw the news of the explosions in Istanbul, Akdas and Abu Mohammed cheered ‘God is great’. I thought this sort of attack was going to be carried out against US or Israeli forces, I was very saddened it was done in Turkey,” said the statement quoted by the CNN Turk Web site.

Security sources have said Sakra, a bomb-making expert, is the top figure in Osama’s Al-Qaeda network in Turkey. Turkish police captured him in August and a court charged him with a plot to bomb Israeli tourists. Turkish media, quoting security sources, have said he had secured financing for the Istanbul attacks and received orders from Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda’s leader in Iraq. Habip Akdas is believed to have been killed fighting US forces in Iraq. Turkey has asked Iraq to extradite Kus and Habip’s brother, Sadettin Akdas, to face charges in connection with the bombings.
Posted by:Fred

#5  Yeah, maybe his being "saddened" will allow him to escape being hung. Instead, he should be dumped into a 4'x4'x4' hole and allowed to starve to death "peacefully".
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-10-11 13:47  

#4  Wow...it breaks my heart to hear that he was "saddened" that he took the lives of innocent women and children. (violins, please).
Posted by: anymouse   2005-10-11 12:47  

#3  I thought this sort of attack was going to be carried out against US or Israeli forces, I was very saddened it was done in Turkey He would have been fine with the collateral deaths if the attack had been in Iraq or Israel. Poor man is learning all about that lay down with dogs, rise up with fleas thingy.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-10-11 08:55  

#2  I'd be 'upset' too if I had Turkish interro-gators 'questioning' me with pliers and thumbscrews.
Posted by: 2b   2005-10-11 05:29  

#1  Al-Qaeda Suspect ‘Upset’ by 2003 Istanbul Bombs

A Turkish Al-Qaeda suspect held by US forces in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison said in a statement read out in court yesterday he was saddened by a series of Istanbul suicide bombings that killed scores of people in 2003.

You couldn't pay enough me to give a shit about these bastards.

Round up all the Muzzy splodydopes, financers & handlers, then harvest all their organs and bank 'em, for the the surviving victims and future victims everywhere who need them.

I insist that the asshatis should be completely harvested without anesthetics.....and then killed slowly, according the Geneva Convention.

Posted by: Red Dog   2005-10-11 00:24  

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