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CIA tipped off Turks to al-Qaeda plot against NATO summit
Turkey received a tip-off from the CIA over an alleged Al Qaeda plan to attack the June 28-29 NATO summit in Istanbul, to be attended by US President George W Bush, ahead of the arrest of suspected militants this month, the Milliyet newspaper reported on Wednesday. The CIA reportedly told Turkish authorities that the Al Qaeda network was planning a âlarge-scaleâ attack during the summit and that explosives were dispatched to Istanbul from northern Iraq, Milliyet said, without citing a source. A police spokesman contacted by AFP declined to comment. The tip-off was received prior to April 30 when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a security meeting with senior officials, Milliyet said. Shortly afterwards, Turkish police rounded up 25 people in Istanbul and nearby Bursa, thought to belong to the northern Iraq-based radical group Ansar al-Islam, an alleged ally of Al Qaeda, on suspision that they were plotting a bomb attack on the NATO summit.Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-05-20 |
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