Syria Hands Over 22 Istanbul Bombing Suspects
An unidentified suspect in the car bomb attack on Istanbul's Beth
Israel synagogue is escorted out of the State Security Court in
Istanbul on Saturday (29 November). [AFP]
(Reuters, Anatolia Agency, VOA, The Guardian, Independent - 01/12/03;
AP, Reuters, BBC - 30/11/03; CNN - 29/11/03)
On Sunday (30 November), Syria handed over to Turkey 22 people
suspected of involvement in the four recent suicide bombings in
Istanbul. Officials say the suspects fled the country after the
terror attacks that left 61 dead and more than 700 wounded.
A police statement said Hilmi Tuglaoglu and several others believed
to have close links with Azad Ekinci were among those repatriated
from Syria. Investigators suspect Ekinci played a key role in the
attacks.
On 15 November two suicide bombers -- later identified as Mesut
Cabuk, 29, and Gokhan Elaltuntas, 22 -- attacked the Beth Israel and
the Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul, killing 29 people. Five days
later, another 32 people died in two almost simultaneous blasts that
hit the offices of the London-based HSBC bank and the British
consulate in Istanbul. In all, the four blasts injured 712 people.
The pickup trucks used in the synagogue attacks are believed to have
been bought by Ekinci. Quoting Turkish media reports, the British
daily Independent said he had travelled to Iran, received military
training in explosives in Pakistan between 1997 and 1999, and had
fought in Chechnya.
According to the state-run Anadolu agency, DNA tests have confirmed
Ilyas Kuncak and Feridun Ugurlu were the suicide bombers who carried
out the attacks on the British targets. Ugurlu is said to have fought
in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
More than 20 people have been charged thus far in connection with the
blasts.
Turkish authorities said Saturday that one man, suspected of ordering
the Beth Israel synagogue bombing, had been charged with "attempting
to violently overthrow the constitutional order". The charges brought
against him are equivalent to treason, an offence punishable by life
in prison.
Reports identified him as Yusuf Polat, a brother of Mesut Cabuk, the
man who carried out the attack on the synagogue. Police arrested
Polat last Tuesday after receiving a tip that he was planning to
leave the country with fake documents.
"He was caught when he tried to go abroad from Agri's Gurbulak border
gate on 25 November," Istanbul Deputy Police Chief Halil Yilmaz said.
"The arrested person collected information about Beth Israel
synagogue before the bomb attack; he went to the scene with other
assailants on 15 November and ordered the bomb attack."
Yilmaz also said that the investigation "has shown that this man gave
the order to launch the operation".
Polat was taken to the synagogue site on Saturday and, in the
presence of the Istanbul State Security Court chief prosecutor, was
asked to describe the 15 November attack.
http://www.setimes.com/html2/english/031201-SVETLA-001.htm
In Tirana/Albania wurden ebenso 4 Türken, 2 davon Verwandte der
Attentäter festgenommen.
An unidentified suspect in the car bomb attack on Istanbul's Beth
Israel synagogue is escorted out of the State Security Court in
Istanbul on Saturday (29 November). [AFP]
(Reuters, Anatolia Agency, VOA, The Guardian, Independent - 01/12/03;
AP, Reuters, BBC - 30/11/03; CNN - 29/11/03)
On Sunday (30 November), Syria handed over to Turkey 22 people
suspected of involvement in the four recent suicide bombings in
Istanbul. Officials say the suspects fled the country after the
terror attacks that left 61 dead and more than 700 wounded.
A police statement said Hilmi Tuglaoglu and several others believed
to have close links with Azad Ekinci were among those repatriated
from Syria. Investigators suspect Ekinci played a key role in the
attacks.
On 15 November two suicide bombers -- later identified as Mesut
Cabuk, 29, and Gokhan Elaltuntas, 22 -- attacked the Beth Israel and
the Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul, killing 29 people. Five days
later, another 32 people died in two almost simultaneous blasts that
hit the offices of the London-based HSBC bank and the British
consulate in Istanbul. In all, the four blasts injured 712 people.
The pickup trucks used in the synagogue attacks are believed to have
been bought by Ekinci. Quoting Turkish media reports, the British
daily Independent said he had travelled to Iran, received military
training in explosives in Pakistan between 1997 and 1999, and had
fought in Chechnya.
According to the state-run Anadolu agency, DNA tests have confirmed
Ilyas Kuncak and Feridun Ugurlu were the suicide bombers who carried
out the attacks on the British targets. Ugurlu is said to have fought
in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
More than 20 people have been charged thus far in connection with the
blasts.
Turkish authorities said Saturday that one man, suspected of ordering
the Beth Israel synagogue bombing, had been charged with "attempting
to violently overthrow the constitutional order". The charges brought
against him are equivalent to treason, an offence punishable by life
in prison.
Reports identified him as Yusuf Polat, a brother of Mesut Cabuk, the
man who carried out the attack on the synagogue. Police arrested
Polat last Tuesday after receiving a tip that he was planning to
leave the country with fake documents.
"He was caught when he tried to go abroad from Agri's Gurbulak border
gate on 25 November," Istanbul Deputy Police Chief Halil Yilmaz said.
"The arrested person collected information about Beth Israel
synagogue before the bomb attack; he went to the scene with other
assailants on 15 November and ordered the bomb attack."
Yilmaz also said that the investigation "has shown that this man gave
the order to launch the operation".
Polat was taken to the synagogue site on Saturday and, in the
presence of the Istanbul State Security Court chief prosecutor, was
asked to describe the 15 November attack.
http://www.setimes.com/html2/english/031201-SVETLA-001.htm
In Tirana/Albania wurden ebenso 4 Türken, 2 davon Verwandte der
Attentäter festgenommen.