|
Turkish al-Qaeda planned to bomb Israeli passenger ship
The Turkish al-Qaida cell that was responsible for twin suicide bombings against two synagogues, the British consulate and the HSBC in Istanbul, had planned to bomb an Israeli passenger ship which frequently sails between Israel and Turkey. Turkeyâs Milliyet newspaper reported Saturday that the Islamic terror group had originally intended to hit an Israeli ship, but changed its targets when the Israeli vessel deviated from its normal routine en route to dock at Turkeyâs Mediterranean port of Alanya. No reason was given for the route deviation. Harun Ilhan, a Turkish terrorist linked to Osama bin Laden and now under arrest, reportedly said that the group decided to strike the consulate only at the last minute after the Israeli vessel failed to dock at Alanya. The Cumhuriyet newspaper reported Friday that the target was a passenger ship. Harun Ilhan, who was arrested in the central Anatolian city of Konya, reportedly admitted that a foreign cruise liner was among planned targets. Ilhan was also taken to the site of Istanbulâs Neve Shalom synagogue to help police recreate what had happened. Ilhan admitted to being the number 2 man in al-Qaidaâs Turkish cell, and told investigators that the attacks on the synagogues were planned two years ago. Turkey announced Friday that it had successfully dismantled Istanbulâs al-Qaida cell, having charged a total of 44 people in connection with bombings in the city. Turkish Minister for Internal Affairs Abdulkadir Aksu signed Thursday a protocol with Minister of Internal Security Tzahi Hanegbi on cooperation on internal security, the fight against terror, human and drug trafficking and other problems. During talks, Hanegbi also suggested training Turkish security forces to respond to terror-related crimes and requested that Turkey mediate peace talks between Israel and Syria. The Turkeyâs newspaper Zaman reported that Israel asked Turkey to mediate with Syria. "It has been stated that Turkey and Syria are friends," Hanegbi said. "Turkey is also our friend. Then, Turkey could act as a mediator between Syria and Israel. This would bring home to Syria what the consequences of supporting terrorism would be." Aksu said tension and disagreeable incidents between Turkey and Syria were in the past after the Agana Agreement was signed and expressed his pleasure at Israeliâs request for Turkey to act as mediator. "It is a heartwarming message. We acknowledge the sincerity of this message." Hanegbiâs visit to Ankara follows that of his Turkish counterpart, who is also responsible for emergency services. "In spite of intelligence regarding possible al-Qaida attacks, the feeling on the streets is that no one is changing their routine," Hanegbi told Israel Radio Thursday afternoon. "The Turks are a tough nation," he observed, "and nobody here would dream of changing his way of life. The Jewish community enjoys close cooperation with the police, and they feel absolutely at home." The current agreement of principles updates a previous agreement from 1994 and focuses on the fight against terrorism. Cooperation between the two nations recently reached new levels following the November bombing of two synagogues in Istanbul. The Mossad had then warned Turkish authorities of possible attacks, and helped collect and collate intelligence information in the aftermath. The two countries will also upgrade the level of cooperation on matters of internal security. Subjects include international terrorism, arms smuggling, illegal immigration and human and drugs trafficking. The two countries will exchange information, intelligence and technology, and carry out joint exercises of their respective coast guards. And Turkish police will, for the first time, train with Israeli police. On Thursday, Turkish authorities have found 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of explosives, prepared to be used in possible terrorist attacks, a news agency reported. The explosives, including the powerful military explosive RDX, were found during searches conducted in three districts of Istanbul, the semiofficial Anatolia agency said, citing unidentified sources. Anatolia said the explosives were prepared to be used in possible attacks but gave no details. The report did not say when the explosives were discovered. Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-12-28 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=23436 |