Publicité
Turkey probes al Qaeda bomb claim
<B>An Arabic </B>newspaper said a unit of the al Qaeda network had claimed responsibility for weekend synagogue bombings that killed at least 23 people in Turkey and which diplomats said were carried out by suicide bombers.
The London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi said a division of Osama bin Laden?s al Qaeda had sent it a statement claiming responsibility for Saturday?s simultaneous bombings in Istanbul and vowing more attacks.
The statement, a copy of which the paper sent to Reuters, added that the militant network was planning more car bombings against the United States and its allies Britain, Italy, Australia and Japan.
The same group, the Brigades of the Martyr Abu Hafz al-Masri, claimed responsibility for the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August, which killed 23 people.
<B>400 kg of explosives </B>
The dollar sagged against European currencies yesterday on geopolitical worries after the bombings. The mention of Japan in the warning also pulled down the Tokyo stock market. Turkey and Israel, vowing not to let the blasts damage rare close ties between the Jewish state and a Muslim nation, have vowed to track down the perpetrators of the attack, which killed Jews attending Sabbath prayers and Muslim passers-by. Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, said no stone would be left unturned in bringing those responsible to justice.
More than 70 victims remained in hospital after the attacks, in which the bombers detonated two vans loaded with explosives outside the two synagogues, wrecking buildings and cars over wide areas.
?Our determination to fight terrorism in the international arena continues because this event has international links,? Erdogan said. Working side-by-side, Turkish police and Israeli Mossad secret service teams combed through the wreckage outside the two synagogues.
?The Turkish probe has found that the two separate attacks were suicide bombings,? a diplomatic source close to the investigation told Reuters.
Each vehicle in the Istanbul blasts was packed with 400 kg of explosives and two corpses were found with wires attached to them suggesting they might be suicide bombers. The Baghdad assault on the UN offices also involved a vehicle loaded with explosives.
?The remaining operations are coming, God willing, and by God, Jews around the world will regret that their ancestors even thought about occupying the land of Muslims,? the statement from the Brigades group said.
State-run Anatolian news agency quoted security sources as saying the bombs were made of ammonium sulphate, nitrate and petrol, all easily available, mixed in plastic containers.
NATO member Turkey has been preoccupied by plans to send troops to Iraq to help American-led occupation forces there ? a move it abandoned this month after strong protests by Iraq?s US-appointed Governing Council.
As a top tourist destination, Turkey is sensitive to incidents that tarnish its image as it warily awaits progress on a $16 billion pact with the IMF to restore its economy. ?Terrorism will be perceived as a threat to stability in terms of more long-term investment which Turkey is desperately in need of, and for the whole long-term image of Turkey,? said Sevdil Yildirim of Yapi Kredi Securities in Istanbul.
<B>Intimidation</B>
Tense time for Turkey?s Jews</B>
The country has a Jewish population of about 20,000 ? a small community which, as elsewhere in the Muslim Middle East, has shrunk steadily since the state of Israel was created in the late 1940s. Turkey?s Jews have not been immune from sectarian or political violence. In 1986, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul was attacked by gunmen believed to be Palestinians, who killed 22 worshippers during a Sabbath service. Six years later, the synagogue was hit again, this time by a bomb planted by the Shia Hezbollah movement. On that occasion, no-one was hurt. In general, however, the country?s Jews have co-existed more peacefully with the Muslim majority than is the case elsewhere in the Middle East and there are few, if any, reports of persecution. This is helped by the fact that Turkey?s Islamists tend to be relatively moderate.
In recent years, the government in Ankara has had good relations with Israel. However, Turkey?s geographical location means that it cannot be totally immune from the rising tension in the region. It does have a violent Islamist guerrilla group called the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders? Front, which says it carried out the latest bombing. And there is, of course, also the possibility that foreign militants are operating in the country.
<B>security measures</B>
<B>Japan vows vigilance after al Qaeda threat</B>
Japan pledged to maintain vigilance yesterday after reports that al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for two deadly Turkish bombings and vowed further attacks against the United States and its allies, including Japan. The report comes at a delicate time for Japan, which is trying to decide when to send troops to Iraq and is torn between promises to the United States and domestic public opion, which opposed the US-led war in Iraq and is against sending troops. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, said Japan would respond to the report with the vigilance it has maintained since the attacks on USA on Sept. 11, 2001. ?At times like this, there are many reports,? he told.
?We will have to look into it carefully. The report was a factor in a three per cent fall in the Tokyo stock market?s key Nikkei average yesterday,? Fukuda added. ?We haven?t had anything serious up to now,? he said. ?Without checking, it?s hard to know if there?s anything different about this time.
?Since 9/11 we have always been on guard.? He was non-committal on how it might affect Japan?s dispatch of troops to Iraq, reiterating that Tokyo wants to offer as much help with humanitarian aid as it can, and as soon as possible. ?But it depends what the security situation is,? he added. ?We can?t just say we?ll send people quickly, ignoring present conditions. We have to watch the situation realistically.?
Ayla Jean Yackley
Publicité
Publicité
Les plus récents
