Article

2003-11-28 Europe

Turkish justice minister says Istanbul bombings were an al-Qaeda attack

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Posted by Dan Darling 2003-11-28 1:55:05 AM|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 If Zarqawi was indeed the man running the show in Turkey, it's not very surprising, considering his trip to Chechnya/Pankisi in '02. It is somewhat surprising, though. You would think that al Qaeda would make more of an effort to keep its operations compartmentalized.

Posted by Pete Stanley 2003-11-28 2:02:43 AM|| 2003-11-28 2:02:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Chechnya's a major front for al-Qaeda, so all of the top-tier members or at least their designated flunkies seem to have to visit there or at least send cash periodically. What I'm more interested to know is whether or not the Iranian branch of al-Qaeda (of which Zarqawi is part of) was operating independently of the Pakistani branch run by KSM. We know at least that the Africa and Europe branches are all working for the Iranian branch because of Zarqawi's plots and that Suleiman Abu Ghaith, who is in Iran, claimed responsibility for the Mombasa attacks. If all major nodes of the network are still operating as one, then we're still dealing with a centralized force rather than disorganized fragments.

Posted by Dan Darling 2003-11-28 2:10:11 AM|| [http://www.regnumcrucis.blogspot.com] 2003-11-28 2:10:11 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Centralized through/in Iran?

Posted by Lucky 2003-11-28 11:53:30 PM|| 2003-11-28 11:53:30 PM|| Front Page Top

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