Israeli and Turkish investigators searched the wreckage of two bombed synagogues for clues Sunday, as rescuers found three more bodies to raise the death toll to 23 in the twin attacks. More than 300 others were injured. Private Turkish NTV said Turkish intelligence officials were questioning three people, including two women, detained in the bombings, which went off minutes apart Saturday in synagogues three miles from each other.
| If women were involved, that'd make me think other than al-Qaeda... |
The head of Istanbul's health department, Erman Tuncer, said three more bodies were found, bringing the number of dead to 23. Police put the number of wounded at 303. Most of the victims were Muslim passers-by. At least six Jews were confirmed dead in the attacks and some 80 others were injured.
| The fact that they're willing to bump off so many of their own co-religionists to get at a few Jews indicates they don't consider their own to be particularly valuable... |
Turkish officials said intelligence suggested al-Qaida may have been planning attacks in Turkey. "We were informed that both vehicles paused and exploded in front of the synagogues," Turkey's Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul said. The drivers of the vehicles were believed to be at the wheels at the time of the blasts, he said. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom flew to Istanbul to show support to the small Jewish community in this predominantly Muslim nation that is an ally of Israel. He visited Turkey's chief rabbi, Isak Haleva, who was in one of the synagogues when the attackers struck and was slightly injured. Haleva's son, Yosef, suffered serious face and neck wounds, and underwent surgery. Investigative teams from both nations picked through the twisted metal and other rubble for possible links to Osama bin Laden's organization or other terrorist groups based abroad.
| Starting with the remains of the drivers... |
One of the blasts tore apart the facade of Neve Shalom — Istanbul's biggest synagogue and the symbolic center of Turkey's 25,000-member Jewish community. The other synagogue was Beth Israel, in an affluent neighborhood. Authorities were skeptical about a Turkish radical Islamic group's claim that it carried out the bombings, questioning whether it was capable of such carefully coordinated attacks.
| It's not that difficult. And there's nothing to say they weren't subcontractors... |
"This incident has moved beyond the national dimension, I believe, to the international," said Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But Shalom, in an interview with Israel's Army Radio from Istanbul, was cautious about assigning blame. "The direction is more to al-Qaida according to the Turkish government, but this hasn't been finalized. There are things that still need to be investigated," Shalom said.
| Good to be cautious. Turkish Hezbollah (no relation to the Lebanese entity) is a particularly bloodthirsty mob itself... |
Turkish daily Radikal reported that the Israeli intelligence service Mossad had warned Turkish intelligence units twice about an attack on synagogues in Turkey. The first warning came in April, when Mossad reportedly said that al-Qaida was planning to attack the Neve Shalom and other synagogues, as well as U.S. British and Israeli consulates in Turkey, Radikal said. A second Mossad warning, that al-Qaida was planning attacks on Israeli and U.S. citizens in Turkey, came in September, Radikal reported.
| Which swings the suspicion meter back to Qaeda. I'd still suspect they subcontracted it, or that the "Qaeda" branch is Tawhid... |
|