Syrian stands trial for terrorism in Turkey

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Monday, 20 March: 13.57 CET) – The trial of a Syrian man suspected of being the main link between suicide bombings in Istanbul, Turkey and al-Qaida opened in Istanbul on Monday.

According to Turkish media reports, Syrian-born Louai al-Saqa told police that fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar gave him US$50,000 to carry out attacks in his name against Israeli targets.

Turkish prosecutors say that Osama bin Laden personally ordered al-Saqa to carry out terrorist attacks.

Al-Saqa is accused of planning to use an inflatable boat packed with explosives to hit an Israeli cruise ship in the popular Turkish resort town of Antalya, which is frequented by Israeli tourists.

After his arrest last August, al-Saqa told reporters that he was plotting to attack Israeli cruise ships off Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Another Syrian man, Hamid Obysi, was arrested along with al-Saqa. His trial also opened on Monday.

Turkish authorities also suspect al-Saqa of involvement in the twin suicide attacks that killed 63 people and wounded 750 others in Istanbul in November 2003, when suicide bombers detonated explosive-laden trucks outside two synagogues, the British consulate, and the British-based HSBC bank.

More than 70 men are being tried in connection with the bombings.