TURKEY: Nine people were charged yesterday with involvement in the suicide bombings of British targets that killed dozens of people in Istanbul. Britain also warned that more attacks in Turkey could be imminent.
The suspects were charged with "belonging to, aiding and abetting an illegal organisation" after lengthy questioning, a defence lawyer, Mr Selahattin Karahan, told Reuters.
The Foreign Minister, Mr Abdullah Gul, said the bombings had provided a "sorrowful" start to the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, but he voiced defiance.
"The terrorists were puppets, but there are puppeteers and we will struggle against them," he told reporters, adding the attacks would not steer Turkey off its path towards greater political rights as it sought to be a member of the EU.
"We won't make the same mistakes as other countries; Turkey will not decrease individual freedom," he said.
Groups apparently linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network have claimed responsibility for the November 20th attacks.
The Prime Minister, Mr Tayyip Erdogan, has said an al-Qaeda link has not been proved, but that the Turkish bombers had global connections.
Mr Erdogan, whose party's roots are among conservative Muslims, said true Islam had nothing to do with terrorism.
"It seems to me that those who link our holy beliefs to terrorism are gaining ground even among our people; very slowly and gradually, like water drops making a hole in stone.
"This bothers me. I cannot stand it when I hear the phrase Islamic terrorism," Mr Erdogan said at a holiday breakfast.
The attacks on the British consulate and the Turkish headquarters of London-based banking giant HSBC, which killed 31 people, took place five days after suicide bomb attacks on two Istanbul synagogues killed 25 people.
Meanwhile the British government said yesterday it had received information that "further attacks may be imminent" in Turkey.
It advised citizens not to travel to the country.
Police patrolled outside the gates of the British embassy in the capital Ankara yesterday, and barricades were placed on the road below the mission to block any vehicles from stopping, witnesses said.
Turkey has stepped up security at key sites, including Istanbul's international airport, for fear of more attacks.
Two Istanbul soccer clubs will play their Champions League home matches outside Turkey because of security concerns, European soccer's governing body, UEFA, ruled yesterday.
Crowds on central Istanbul's normally bustling Istiklal street near the British consulate were thin during the holiday.
"It's usually boiling over with people during the holiday, but this year people are tense and want to stay at home," said Mr Toraman Yahsi, who works at a traditional patisserie on Istiklal.
"There's worry about another attack, but people are also not in the holiday spirit after such a tragedy."
Many of the suspects rounded up after Thursday's attacks came from the city of Bingol, a centre of Islamic fundamentalism in the impoverished and mainly Kurdish south-east towards the border with Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Court officials said three people detained after Thursday's blasts had been freed. Four were released on Monday.
Mr Karahan, defending, said relatives of the suspected bombers who had been detained were let go.
"A date for the trial's start has not been set. It is not expected to be far off since the suspects are in jail." .
Bingol residents said the two synagogue bombers - Mesut Cabuk and Gokhan Elaltuntas - had been buried in shame at dead of night, with only close family in attendance.