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Turkey al-Qaida Leader Said Killed in Iraq Fri Sep 10, 2:52 PM ET By JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish television broadcast on Friday a video from militants saying that the suspected leader of a Turkish al-Qaida cell blamed for suicide bombings in Istanbul was killed by U.S. airstrikes in Iraq (news - web sites). The video showed a body of a bearded man with a bloody face said to be that of Habib Akdas. A man, apparently a Turkish militant, was heard in the video saying Akdas was killed in a bombing raid this week...

Newly released police testimony of al-Qaeda member Louai Sakka found in case records has come the fore. In Sakka’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 was the structure of al-Qaeda, according to Sakka: Leader Osama bin Laden, His assistants: Mohammed Atef (Abu Hafs...

Alleged al-Qaida Operative Wanted for Bombings in Turkey Said to Elude Officials by Faking Death ISTANBUL, Turkey - An alleged al-Qaida operative accused of serving as a key link between the group's leaders and suicide bombers hid his tracks so well that even fellow militants thought he was dead. Loa'i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa, wanted by Turkey for 2003 bombings in Istanbul that killed 58 people, is said to have eluded intelligence services by using an array of fake IDs, employing aliases even with his al-Qaida contacts and finally faking his death in Fallujah, Iraq, in late 2004. The Syrian...

An alleged al-Qaeda operative accused of serving as a key link between the group's leaders and suicide bombers hid his tracks so well that even fellow militants thought he was dead. Loa'i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa, wanted by Turkey for 2003 bombings in Istanbul that killed 58 people, is said to have eluded intelligence services by using an array of fake IDs, employing aliases even with his al-Qaeda contacts and finally faking his death in Fallujah, Iraq, in late 2004. The Syrian radical didn't surface until last August, when an accidental explosion forced him to flee his safehouse in the...

Suspect Says Sent Money from Iran for Turkey Bombs Free Iran at ActivistChat.com! ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish man has admitted he received $50,000 from an Iranian source and sent it to Turkey to finance last month's suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul, a newspaper said on Saturday. Adnan Ersoz, charged with attempting to change "the constitutional order by force of arms" on Friday, had confirmed that an international terrorist organization had given training and cash to members of a Turkish Islamist group, police said in a statement on Friday. Police did not name the international organization. But a report in...

A Turkish man has admitted he received $50,000 from an Iranian source and sent it to Turkey to finance last month's suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul, a newspaper said on Saturday. Adnan Ersoz, charged with attempting to change "the constitutional order by force of arms" on Friday, had confirmed that an international terrorist organization had given training and cash to members of a Turkish Islamist group, police said in a statement on Friday. Police did not name the international organization. But a report in Hurriyet newspaper said he told interrogators he had breakfast with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden...

Ankara, Turkey — An anti-terrorism court Friday charged a Turk with an offence amounting to treason after authorities said he acted as a link between al-Qaida and suicide bombers in attacks that killed 62 people in Istanbul last month. Adnan Ersoz, who was detained Monday, is suspected to have been involved in the planning of the four truck bombings after meeting with Osama bin Laden, an intelligence official said. Mr. Ersoz confessed he underwent explosives training in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, the intelligence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Mr. Ersoz told a court Friday...

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...

Bin Laden's right-hand man 'instructed' Istanbul bombers Two key suspects in the Istanbul suicide bombings reportedly met with and took instructions from Osama bin Laden's right-hand man. Hurriyet newspaper, quoting from the testimony of another suspect, said Habib Aktas and Azad Ekinci met the al-Qaida chief's top surviving lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, several times. The two Turks are suspected of hatching the plans for the November 15 suicide bombings against two synagogues and on the British Consulate and a British bank five days later. A total of 61 people died in the attacks. "They were the only ones to meet with...

Istanbul, Turkey (AP) - Syria handed over 22 suspects to Turkey on Sunday in connection with four deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul, the semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported. The suspects, all Turks, reportedly fled the country after the attacks, which targeted two synagogues in near-simultaneous bombings Nov. 15 and the British consulate and a British bank in twin attacks five days later. A total of 61 people were killed. Citing a statement from paramilitary police, Anatolia said the suspects included Hilmi Tuglaoglu, a close associate of Azat Ekinci, a central suspect in the blasts. News reports have named Ekinci as...

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Syria handed over 22 suspects to Turkish authorities Sunday in connection with four recent suicide bombings in Istanbul, the semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported. The suspects, all Turks, reportedly fled the country after the attacks, which targeted two synagogues in near-simultaneous bombings Nov. 15 and the British consulate and a British bank five days later. A total of 61 people were killed Citing a statement from paramilitary police, Anatolia said the suspects included Hilmi Tuglaoglu, believed to be close to a key suspect in the attacks, Azat Ekinci. News reports have identified Ekinci as a key...

A Turkish suspect who allegedly ordered the start of a suicide truck bombing attack against an Istanbul synagogue has confessed to having ties with the Osama Ben Laden's Al-Qaeda network, Turkish newspapers reported Sunday. Hurriyet daily on Sunday identified as Yousuf Pollat as the man allegedly behind the November 15 bombing, one of two suicide attacks on synagogues in the city on the same day, that left 24 people dead and hundreds wounded. The suspect, whom police said was captured last week while trying to slip into Iran, has been charged with trying to overthrow Turkey's "constitutional order" - a...

<p>Last Thursday's attacks, which killed 30 persons, came days after bombings at two Istanbul synagogues killed 23 others. More than 500 people were wounded. An al Qaeda-linked Turkish terrorist cell, the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front, has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks. More than 1,000 Turkish volunteers are believed to have fought and trained in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. Turkey's reluctance to send troops to Iraq did not prevent carnage on its soil.</p>

ISTANBUL, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Two young women sit side by side in the waiting room of Haydarpasa station in Istanbul, waiting for a train to take them home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan with their families. One, a 24-year-old university student named Sibel Ates, wears jeans, ear-rings and make-up. The other wears an all-encompassing black chador covering her hair and body. These are the two faces of European Union-candidate Turkey -- an overwhelmingly Muslim country which has been a secular state for more than half a century and which gave the vote to...

15 face Istanbul bomb charge By Amberin Zaman in Istanbul (Filed: 25/11/2003) Fifteen people detained in connection with Thursday's suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul have been transferred to a state security court after being interrogated for four days. The aftermath of Thursday's bomb at the HSBC building in Istanbul Istanbul's governor, Muammer Guler, declined to identify the suspects, who were expected to be charged with "aiding and abetting terrorists". He said the suicide bomber who drove an explosives-laden lorry into the British consulate building had been identified, but he refused to name him. At least 30 people died and more...

Axis of Angels Ardavan Bahrami November 23, 2003 Following the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, a Turkish politician stated that; “such behaviour will bring Turkey even closer to the European Union, the United States and Israel. As a matter of fact a team of anti-terrorist experts have arrived from Israel”. I have always admired and respected the Turks. They are, if not the most, definitely one of the most patriotic people I have ever seen. Since the foundation of the modern Turkish republic in 1920’s, Turkey has strongly attached herself to the essence of Kemal Ataturk’s doctrine. Though at times...

<p>ISTANBUL — Thousands of Turks demonstrated against a string of suicide bombings here and in cities across the country yesterday, some blaming the United States and others blaming Muslim fanatics on a rampage during the holy month of Ramadan.</p> <p>About 2,000 marchers assembled in Taksim Square, near the site of Thursday's twin explosions at the British Consulate and the Turkish headquarters of a British-based bank — attacks that killed at least 30 persons and wounded hundreds.</p>

<p>Istanbul, Turkey's major city on the Bosphorous, was struck for the second time in less than a week by a devastating twin car bomb attack that killed at least 27 people and wounded nearly 450 others. Moments later, an unidentified caller to the Anatolian News Agency claimed responsibility on behalf of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.</p>

UK Muslims 'outraged' when asked to condemn terror British leader called 'ridiculous' for urging 'clearer, stronger language' Posted: November 22, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com A British official has raised the ire of his country's Muslims after urging them to follow the "British way" of political dialogue and reject Islamist terrorism. Denis MacShane, Britian's minister for Europe, was speaking to his Rotherham, UK, constituency after the bombings in Istanbul when he likened the terrorists to Nazis and urged British Muslim leaders to use "clearer, stronger language" to speak out against them, the Guardian of London reported. The paper...

When informed of the Istanbul synagogue bombings last Saturday, November 15, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an off-the-cuff reaction, hit the nail on the head. They are trying to destabilize Turkey, he said, there and then cutting short his trip to Cyprus. Within hours he had reached the scenes of destruction in Istanbul and called an emergency cabinet session in Ankara. The Jewish and British sites devastated in two rounds of coordinate attacks this week, in which at least 55 people lost their lives and 750 were maimed, are standard targets for al Qaeda, which has declared war...