A police officer and four al Qaeda militants were killed on Thursday in southeast Turkey in raids launched by police who believed the Islamists were planning major attacks, the local governor's office said.Special forces police backed by armoured vehicles launched raids on houses used by the Islamic militant group in and around the city of Gaziantep, in a 12-hour operation in the early hours of Thursday. Four police officers were injured, two of them seriously, in clashes which erupted and brought parts of the city to a standstill. Masked police sharpshooters surrounded the targeted houses.
The Gaziantep governor's office said 19 people were detained in the operation. Police seized 75 kg of ammonium nitrate, an explosive, along with rifles, pistols, ammunition and documents. "There was information that units linked to the al Qaeda terror group were preparing acts that would have had a dramatic impact in our province and beyond," Gaziantep Governor Suleyman Kamci said in a statement.
Police said the fighting erupted after their calls for the militants to surrender were met by gunfire. Broadcaster CNN Turk said on its Web site one militant only surrendered after a 12-hour siege of a house where two other fighters had earlier been shot dead.