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| Europe |
| Sakra funded Istanbooms |
| 2006-02-18 |
| Newly released police testimony of al-Qaeda member Louai Sakka found in case records has come the fore. Sakka resorted to his right to remain silent when asked by the prosecutor to testify. Although Sakka's initial statement was not included in the indictment, it is still clear from it that he is linked to al-Qaeda terror organization. He has knowledge of not only the Istanbul bombings that happened between 15 and 20 November 2003 but of Iraqi insurgents as well. His statements were presented in a fact-finding report signed by Public Prosecutor Zekeriya Oz as well. "Sakka wanted his statements to be saved on the computer, and whatever he said was recorded," a note on the dossier read. Sakka was arrested at Diyarbakir Airport while in preparation for a bomb attack against Israeli ships in Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya. His statement covered detailed information about his activities as a senior al-Qaeda official. According to Sakka, the idea of launching a bomb attack was first brought up during a meeting with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in April 2001. The dossier also contains information that he received an offer from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to be an emir while Sakka was in Iraq in 2002, when Habip Akdas asked Sakka to finance the bomb attacks on the Israeli ships. Sakka's account provides detailed information about how he managed to finance those attacks. Although bin Laden assigned Sakka to organize the Antalya bombings, Sakka could not resist Akdas' opposition to the plan, and rejected the task. Sakka's report said he supplied $150,000 to conduct the bomb attacks, and Habip Akdas, Saadetin Akdas and Burhan Kus went to Syria one week before their suicide attacks. Although attacks were initially targeted at Israeli ships in Antalya and other places occupied by Jews, said Sakka in his account to police, bad weather impeded attackers from carrying out their plan, forcing them to change their strategy. Only the HSBC bombings in Istanbul, Sakka had no prior knowledge of. Bin Laden did not express his approval of those bombings, Sakka said in his testimony, because it would affect a very large number of Turkish citizens. Azat Ekinci, Hadip Akdas, Gurcan Bac, Mohammed Tokas all died, according to Sakka. In SakkaÂ’s statements it is written that he is the one who provided two terrorists with a passport before they organized the September 11 attacks. Sakka's testimony also gives us some clues that Murat Yuce, the Turkish driver kidnapped in Iraq, was killed by a terrorist of Sakka's choice. There were also some Turkish people who took part in the execution of Yuce. The following is the structure of al-Qaeda, according to Sakka: Leader Osama bin Laden, His assistants: Mohammed Atef (Abu Hafs al-Misri), Ayman al- Zawahiri (Information Minister), Seyful Adil, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (his assistant is Sakka) and Abu Mohammed Zeyyiat al-Misri (al-Qaeda's camp emir). |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |