Three held in Turkey over possible al-Qaeda links

Turkish police have detained three men suspected of links with the al-Qaeda terror network believed to be on their way to Israel…

Turkish police have detained three men suspected of links with the al-Qaeda terror network believed to be on their way to Israel to stage a bomb attack.

The two Palestinians and a Jordanian were detained in the eastern province of Van, bordering Iran, after they ignored a police warning to stop at a checkpoint.

Police say the three men entered Turkey illegally from Iran and told police they were planning to travel to Istanbul and from there to Israel. The men are reported to have told detectives they had orders to carry out a bomb attack in a crowded area. No weapons or bomb parts were found with the men.

Mr Mustafa Hasan, Mr Firaz Suleyman and Mr Ahmet Mahmut say they are members of a group called Beyyiat el-Imam, which Turkish police say has links with al-Qaeda.

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A fourth man in the car, who was also detained, was suspected of helping the suspects enter Turkey illegally, and six other people have been detained in Istanbul for aiding and abetting the suspects.

Police are inspecting documents in Arabic found in their car and believe they contain bomb-making instructions.

The detentions follow Turkish news reports last week claiming that two Tunisian-born Canadians suspected of links with the al-Qaeda network might be in Turkey.

AP