Posted on 12/06/2003 4:37:07 PM PST by Pokey78
A Syrian-based mullah already wanted in Germany and Italy has emerged as a leading suspect behind the Istanbul bombings that killed 61 people, including the British consul general.
Damascus-based Mohammed Majid has a long history of involvement with extremist groups in Europe and is said to have financed a string of recent terror attacks across the Middle East. He has also been linked to efforts by Islamic fundamentalists to infiltrate Iraq.
British and Turkish investigators believe that Majid's network of sympathisers in Syria is sheltering five figures involved in last month's attacks on the British consulate and a branch of HSBC bank in Istanbul. They are said to include Azad Ekinci, the mastermind behind the attacks, who was originally reported to have been among the suicide bombers.
A British official liaising with Damascus said that Ekinci was "almost certainly" still in Syria with four accomplices. "The Syrians have acted on information passed to them and have picked up two people who are almost definitely involved," he said.
Since moving to Syria three years ago, Majid is alleged to have established a financing system for al-Qa'eda-related operations, raising money from sympathisers or business interests in Milan and Hamburg and channelling it to terrorists in Damascus.
He is said to have close links with Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the Iranian-based al-Qa'eda leader who has been instrumental in deploying terrorist cells in Iraq.
Co-operation between Britain and Syria flourished after Baroness Symons, the Foreign Office minister, telephoned her opposite number, Farook Al-Sharaa, after the Istanbul bombing. A spokesman for Lady Symons said: "The Syrians have proved themselves willing to work with their international partners and neighbours."
Order the Syrians to hand over the bum or lose a refinery or two!!
You're either with us or you're with the terrorists!!
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