A TURKISH militant accused of acting as a link to suicide bombers who killed 62 people in Istanbul last month allegedly told police he received $200,000 from al-Qaida to attack US targets. Adnan Ersoz was charged with the bombings yesterday and could face life in prison. He said al-Qaida gave him $US150,000 to give to the Turkish militants for the attacks. "I followed the necessary financing for attacks which I thought would be carried out against US targets," daily Hurriyet quoted Ersoz as saying to interrogators. "I received $US50,000 from an Iranian and sent it by courier. Then I contacted Habip when another $US100,000 was needed." Ersoz said Habip Aktas was the head of the al-Qaida in Turkey.
| And Iran is the place to go if you're in the terrorism business... |
Reports said Ersoz regretted his role, since most of those killed were Muslim Turks.
| "Gos! I'm so sorry I got caught!" |
Ersoz allegedly said they initially planned to hit a Turkish military base used by the US in southern Turkey, but militants were stymied by tight security and bombed the synagogues, the British consulate and a London-based bank instead. Hurriyet also reported yesterday that Ersoz said the militants had been preparing for the attacks for about two years. Ersoz told the court he went to Afghanistan in 1997 for military training and met Osama bin Laden in Kandahar in 2001. He denied advanced knowledge of the Istanbul attacks and also denied he had received orders from bin Laden to carry out the attacks. However, Ersoz allegedly said he received orders from bin Laden to attack the southern Incirlik Air Base, used by the US military. "We had breakfast with bin Laden in the camp in Kandahar before September 11," he was quoted as telling the police. "Habip Aktas was also present. We decided to attack US targets in Turkey. Our main target was the Incirlik base. But for a reason I don’t know, attacks happened in Istanbul."
| "My wife told me we should stop and ask for directions, but I didn't listen to her..." |
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