46 suspected Islamic militants arrested in Turkey

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Turkish police arrested 46 suspected Islamic militants in operations in five provinces across the country, authorities said Monday. The state-owned Anatolia news agency reported that the suspects had ties to al-Qaida, but police in Istanbul would not confirm that information, saying only that 46 militants were arrested in coordinated operations in the cities of Istanbul, Konya, Izmir, Kocaeli and Mardin. In 2003, homegrown Islamic militants with alleged ties to al-Qaida bombed two synagogues, a British bank and the British consulate in Istanbul, killing 58 people. More than 70 Turks are on trial for their alleged roles in those attacks, though police say some suspected ringleaders fled the country and others died fighting US forces in Iraq. a