Posted on 08/11/2005 4:42:42 AM PDT by SJackson
A suspected Syrian al-Qaida terrorist appeared before a Turkish court Thursday to face charges, and shouted to journalists from a courthouse window that he was planning to attack Israeli cruise ships coming to Turkey.
"I have no regrets. I was going to attack Israeli ships. If they come, my friends will attack them," the man shouted. The semiofficial Anatolia news agency identified him only by the initials L.S.
"I had prepared a ton of explosives," he said in a barely audible voice.
The man also shouted "Allah Akbar," Arabic for "God is great," before officials pulled him back and closed the window. He spoke Turkish with an Arabic accent.
Defense lawyer Osman Kara said authorities caught his client with 750 kilograms (1,650 pounds) of explosives, CNN-Turk television reported.
"He was planning to hit Israeli ships in international waters with these explosives," CNN-Turk quoted Kara as saying.
Another Syrian, identified as Hamed Obysi, whom Turkish reports said was an al-Qaida courier, was charged Wednesday with membership in a terrorist organization.
Five cruise ships carrying some 5,000 Israeli tourists have been diverted from Turkish ports to Cyprus in recent days following intelligence reports that a terror attack was imminent.
Israel on Monday urged its citizens not to visit beach resorts on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Mostly Muslim Turkey is a top vacation spot for Israelis, and more than 300,000 visit each year.
Turkish police said the man brought to court Thursday was also believed to have acted as a mediator between al-Qaida and Turkish extremists responsible for the 2003 bombings of two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank. He also is believed to have helped the bombing masterminds flee the country. The bombings left some 60 people dead.
Earlier, as police escorted the suspect to the courthouse, he shouted: "I was going to carry out an act in the middle of the sea, but without harming any civilian Turks," Anatolia reported.
The agency said the suspect also shouted that he had killed US soldiers in Fallujah, Iraq.
The suspected masterminds of the 2003 Istanbul bombings reportedly fled to Iraq and joined the insurgency there.
Police believe that the Syrian was still in contact with al-Qaida operatives planning future attacks.
Suspects tried in Turkey for the 2003 bombings said they originally were planning to attack an Israeli cruise ship in the Mediterranean, according to a court indictment.
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