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| Europe |
| Turkey bomb suspects âtook orders from al-Zawahiriâ |
| 2003-12-02 |
| Two key suspects in the Istanbul suicide bombings, in which 61 people died, took instructions from Osama bin Ladenâs right-hand man, newspapers reported today. Hurriyet newspaper said main suspects Habib Aktas and Azad Ekinci met with bin Ladenâs top surviving lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, several times. The two Turks are suspected of hatching the plans for the suicide bombings on November 15 against two synagogues and on the British Consulate and a British bank five days later. âThey were the only ones to meet with Al-Zawahiri,â Hurriyet quoted one suspect, identified as Yusuf Polat, as telling police during questioning. âThe instructions came from him. They would meet (with him) at least three times a year, using false identity documents.â Met him at a safe house in Iran, perhaps? The reports came a day after Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener told reporters following a Cabinet meeting that âthose who were involved in these terrorist attacks as suicide bombers, and those who had relations with them ⊠are linked to the al-Qaida terrorist organisationâ. Canât get much higher a link than al-Zawahiri unless you have a ouija board. At least three claims of responsibility for the bombings purportedly came from al-Qaida. The government had been hesitant to name al-Qaida and Senerâs statement was the first time the government directly linked the attacks to bin Ladenâs network. Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, is believed to be bin Ladenâs chief deputy.The man identified as Polat was captured while trying to travel into Iran and charged over the weekend with a crime equivalent to treason. Trying to follow his leaders? Newspapers have said he confessed to belonging to a small al-Qaida cell in Turkey. Police said he surveyed the site for one of the synagogue bombings and gave the go-ahead for the attack. The manâs arrest was the most prominent to date in the investigation into the attacks. Order a extra case of truncheons. Police believe that Aktas, Ekinci and four other suspected ringleaders of a Turkish cell linked to al-Qaida, fled abroad just before the attacks, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported. The big shots always do. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 At a certain point the international community will tire of having AQ operatives fleeing to Syria and planning operations from Iran. Call us when you decide that enough is enough. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-2 6:34:08 PM |
| #3 Additional from AP: On Monday, a Moroccan source told The Associated Press in Rabat that a senior al-Qaida operative suspected of ordering a deadly terrorist attack in Casablanca earlier this year may also have been behind bombings in Turkey. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom the CIA has described as a close associate of bin Laden, is believed to have played a role in attacks in Istanbul, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Al-Zarqawi was identified by Moroccan authorities in July as the mastermind of a wave of suicide bombings that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers in Casablanca in May. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-12-2 10:27:17 AM |
| #2 Is Turkey going to tighten up that border with Iran? Earlier stories pointed out that it was effectively wide open. Now that Iran is "holding" AlQ types and Turkey just felt the effects of having a "good neighbor" policy with the Black Hats - will they get a clue? |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-2 10:16:24 AM |
| #1 "Canât get much higher a link than al-Zawahiri unless you have a ouija board." heh heh - I like that one, Steve. Every day Bin Laden doesn't stand up and do a provably new video convinces me his DNA is buried in Tora Bora rubble |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-12-2 10:02:48 AM |