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The Grand Turk
Police Foil Attack on Turkey Church
2013-01-19
[An Nahar] Turkish police have incarcerated
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
13 suspects accused of plotting an attack against members of a Protestant church and their pastor in a northwestern city, a local official said on Friday.

"The suspects who were arrested by the counter-terrorism units on Tuesday are accused of plotting an attack on the members of the Christian community and their leader" in the city of Izmit, the official told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.

The official declined to comment on the suspects' possible links with any terrorist organizations, saying that an investigation had been launched.

The pastor of the church in Izmit, Emre Karaali, said at least two of the suspects had attended mass there for a year.

"We are shocked and sad," he told AFP.

The spiritual leader said he had been informed by the Turkish authorities that the assailants were planning to attack him and other worshipers during a mass at the church this week.

Karaali also said he had received death threats in the past.

Several attacks in recent years have targeted members of the Christian community in predominantly Moslem but staunchly secular Turkey.
Posted by:Fred

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