Posted on 11/21/2003 5:25:51 AM PST by kattracks
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - The series of suicide car bombings in Turkey over the last five days is intended to send a signal to Europe that it is next in line for terror attacks, Israeli security sources said.
At least 27 people were killed and some 450 wounded in two powerful suicide car bomb blasts outside the British Consulate and a British-owned bank in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday. The attacks apparently were planned to coincide with President Bush's visit to Great Britain.
Five days earlier, 25 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in twin suicide car bombings outside two Istanbul synagogues during Sabbath prayers on Saturday morning.
As a secular regime, which has applied to join the European Union, Turkey was chosen as the place to carry out the terror attacks because it is "almost European," Israeli security sources said.
By choosing Jewish and Western targets in Turkey, the terrorists intended to "convey a message to Europe that it is next," they said.
The semi-official Turkish Anatolia News agency received a call from a man claiming that the attack had been carried out by al Qaeda in conjunction with a local group called the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front (IBDA-C) - the same group that claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack.
But Israeli security sources said a local terror cell lead by terrorists affiliated with an organization called "Biat El Imam" (union of Imams) carried out the attack on Saturday. That cell is under the guidance of Abu Musab El Zirkawi, a Jordanian with ties to al Qaeda.
The attacks had certain hallmarks of an al Qaeda attack: With the exception of the British consulate, the targets are "soft" with only light security; several simultaneous blasts occurred; and the targets were Western, Israeli or Jewish.
Israel sent two bomb and two forensic experts to Istanbul to aid in the investigation of the synagogue bombings.
Following Thursday's bombings, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that the attacks were likely the work of al Qaeda.
On Friday, Straw visited the devastated HSBC Bank in Istanbul, and he told reporters the terror attacks would not hurt Turkey's chances of joining the European Union: "Far from this hurting Turkey's application to join the European Union, it will increase the determination of all of us to see Turkey a full member of the European Union," Straw said.
Experts from around the world have said the attacks must have been carried out with the assistance of a major international terrorist group such as al Qaeda or Global Jihad.
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution on Thursday condemning the attack in the "strongest terms," saying such attacks threatened peace and security and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
Sorry but I feel that France should suffer 1st, then we can finish the Al Queda. Some times you need to use a big stick to get the message across. Hate to do it, but necessary for the French to get their mind right.
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