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| Europe | |
| Yusuf Polat fesses up | |
| 2003-12-01 | |
A Turkish man who allegedly played a central role in a suicide truck bombing attack on an Istanbul synagogue has confessed to having ties with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Turkish newspapers reported yesterday.
A subsidiary, don’t ya know? | |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #6 Once in Iran, a new identity, forged papers and a new mission. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-1 3:09:08 PM |
| #5 "Murat? Hello? You still out there?" Mocking those dead from terrorism seems to have lost its luster now for Wild Dumrul, who has invoked his moral cowardice to run away, yet again. |
| Posted by: Ernest Brown 2003-12-1 3:09:05 PM |
| #4 More from al-Bawaba: A Turkish suspect who allegedly ordered the start of a suicide truck bombing attack against an Istanbul synagogue has confessed to having ties with the Osama Ben Laden's Al-Qaeda network, Turkish newspapers reported Sunday. Hurriyet daily on Sunday identified as Yousuf Pollat as the man allegedly behind the November 15 bombing, one of two suicide attacks on synagogues in the city on the same day, that left 24 people dead and hundreds wounded. The suspect, whom police said was captured last week while trying to slip into Iran, has been charged with trying to overthrow Turkey's "constitutional order" - a crime equivalent to treason that is punishable by life in prison. He is accused of having given the order to carry out the November 15 truck bombing of the Beth Israel synagogue - one of four suicide attacks in Istanbul that killed 61 people, police said. Radikal newspaper said Pollat was born in 1974 in Turkey's southeastern province of Malatya. The leading Milliyet daily and other newspapers said Pollat had confessed to belonging to a 10-man cell that he said was an extension of the al-Qaeda network. Police also had evidence that the attacks had received support domestically and from abroad, Milliyet reported. According to Sabah newspaper, several members of the cell, including several of the suicide bombers, had met while training in Afghanistan. Citing Pollat's confession, Sabah reported that the man suspected of being the suicide bomber at the HSBC bank in Istanbul, started planning the attack in June because of "the occupation of Iraq" and because "Muslims were suffering." He was identified as Habib Aktas. He was wanted by Turkish authorities since 1995 due to his connections with the Turkish Hizbullah group. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-12-1 10:50:50 AM |
| #3 Update from WP: On Saturday, a Turkish court charged a man, identified by Turkish newspapers and television networks as Yusuf Polat, in connection with the bombing of one of the synagogues in Istanbul. Polat was captured trying to flee into Iran at a border crossing, police said. Polat, who police brought in handcuffs to the damaged Beth Israel synagogue on Saturday, allegedly told police that he had scouted the synagogue for the most vulnerable point of attack, according to accounts in several Turkish newspapers. Polat allegedly told police that he and the two bombers "are followers of Osama bin Laden," the daily newspaper Cumhurriyet reported. Polat, after deciding the bomb-laden truck could reach the rear entrance of Beth Israel more easily than the front entrance, reportedly called the truck's driver, Mesut Cabuk, and said, "You can come now: May your campaign for Islam be blessed," the daily newspaper Hurriyet reported. The newspaper said police traced Polat using Cabuk's prepaid cell phone card found in the debris of the bombing. Turkish CSI seems to be doing a outstanding job. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-12-1 10:43:35 AM |
| #2 Murat? Hello? You still out there? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-1 7:57:17 AM |
| #1 Sounds like Al-Quaeda was brought up in Palestine. Don't go kill the Jews yourself, but send out your kids to do it for you. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-12-1 1:24:55 AM |