The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report
Nov. 17 -- — The investigation into bomb attacks at the two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey over the weekend focused on two Islamic extremist groups and possible links to al Qaeda. One group that has been tied to al Qaeda in the past claimed responsibility for the attacks in letters to two London-based newspapers … The U.K. heightened its terror alert in response to credible intelligence that al Qaeda cells were planning attacks against British targets — with conventional or unconventional means … and two Yemenis, charged with supporting and financing terrorist organizations including al Qaeda and Hamas, were extradited to the U.S. from Germany.
THE WAR ON TERROR
MIDDLE EAST
Turkey
Two Unidentified Bodies Claimed to Have Belonged to Members of Terrorist Organizations One of two unidentified bodies, which were brought to the Forensic Medicine Institute following Saturday's bomb attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul, was claimed to have belonged to Mesut Cabuk, a member of the illegal organization of Islamic Movement, and the other to Azad Ekinci, a member of the terrorist organization of Islamic Great Eastern Raiders-Front. (Anatolia News Agency)
Five Held over Istanbul Attack PlotTurkish police said today they have arrested five people suspected of plotting a suicide attack against a police station in Istanbul, where 23 people were killed in weekend bombings at two synagogues, the Anatolia new agency reported. (AFP)
Alleged Al Qaeda Statement Claims Turkey BombingsIn a statement sent to the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a group thought to be linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings near two Istanbul synagogues that killed 23 people and injured 303. Abu Hafs Al Mastry Brigades had previously claimed responsibility for the blackout in the U.S., a plane crash in Kenya, the bombing of a Jakarta hotel and the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. The statement, which AP reports was also sent to another London-based newspaper Al Majalla, warned against attacks inside the U.S. (ABCNEWS, Al Quds Al Arabi, AP)
Turkey Probes Al Qaeda Claim for Blasts As Suicide Bomber Caught On Camera Turkey said it had caught on camera one of the suicide bombers in weekend attacks on Istanbul synagogues as the government looked into reported claims that the al Qaeda terror network was to blame. (AFP)
Saudi ArabiaAlleged Qaeda Statement Denies Link to Saudi Blast A purported statement by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network denied it was behind last Sunday's deadly bombing in Saudi Arabia and warned it would carry out a new attack on a major U.S. city within two years. (Reuters)
AfghanistanU.N. Worker Slain in AfghanistanA French woman was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting in an Afghan bazaar, becoming the first U.N. foreign aid worker to be slain in the country since the fall of the Taliban regime two years ago. (AP)
Stronger And More Deadly, the Terror of the Taliban is Back Close to Kandahar is a little village they call the cradle of the Taliban. Now, two years after the collapse of Mullah Omar's feared regime, the fundamentalist movement is once again on the march. In this disturbing report, Jason Burke in Sangesar tracks a resurgent menace. (The Observer)
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