UPDATED ON:
Thursday, July 10, 2008
18:33 Mecca time, 15:33 GMT
News Europe
Four held over Istanbul attack
Funerals were held for the three police officers shot dead outside the
consulate [AFP]
Turkish police have detained four men over alleged links to an attack on the US
consulate in Istanbul, Besir Atalay, the interior minister, said.
The arrests on Thursday came as the funerals were held for the three police
officers killed in the seven-minute gunfight at a police post outside the
consulate.
Atalay said that Wednesday's shooting, in which three of the attackers were
killed, was apparently a "suicide mission".
"Taking into account the footage from security cameras and other aspects of the
incident, it largely appears to have been an act of suicide," he said.
Three of the suspects were detained up in Istanbul, while the fourth was
brought another city. All were Turksih national, Atalay said..
Police have been looking for the driver of the car in which the three attackers
drove to the consulate building. It is unknown whether he was among the four
detained.
Al-Qaeda blamed
The US ambassador to Turkey has called the attack an obvious act of terrorism,
while CNN Turk televsion on Wednesday quoted police sources as saying al-Qaeda
was behind the attack.
The interior minister said investigators were trying to establish whether the
assailants belonged to any outlawed group, denying reports that one of them had
spent time at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Istanbul, said: "There are
several [local news] reports that say that three of the attackers were Turkish
nationals and ... have been to Afghanistan at some point. One of them [may be
from] south east Turkey.
The Radikal newspaper said Erkan Kargin, one of the attackers killed in the
shootout, crossed into Iran in September 2006 and returned to Turkey eight
months later. Iran does not require visas for Turkish citizens and fighters
reportedly travel to Afghanistan through Iran.
NTV television reported that Kargin is thought to have undergone military
training in Afghanistan.
Investigation
The US said it was unable to confirm or deny reports of al-Qaeda involvement.
Sean McCormack, a state department spokesman, said: "I can't say either way. I
can't refute them. I can't support them at this point. In terms of our view,
it's too early to tell in the investigation."
He said Washington was working closely with the Turkish government "to
determine who is responsible for it and, of course, as best we can, hold to
account anybody who was involved" in its planning and execution.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Osman Faruk Logoglu, the former Turkish ambassador to
the US, said: "I think it is impossible to say [who was responsible]. What we
can say is that this is a terrorist act pure and simple.
"In terms of reasons... there are speculations of all sorts, one line of
thinking is that this is a message to the US and their policies in the region.
The other suggestion is that it is the PKK [Kurdish Workers' Party].
"What they have revealed to us so far is that they somehow trained in
Afghanistan and this leaves a lot of people to jump to the conclusion that
there is an al-Qaeda connection," he said.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
---------------
Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo
Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu
dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
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