10 al-Qaeda suspects detained in southern Turkey

10 al-Qaeda suspects detained in southern Turkey

2011-06-07 23:03:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) -- Turkish police on Tuesday detained ten suspected al-Qaeda members in operations in two southern provinces, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Nine of the suspects were arrested in the southern city of Adana while the other alleged al-Qaeda operative was detained in Hatay city, near the Syrian border. The two operations were conducted simultaneously.

The Adana police force's terror-combat unit searched homes and businesses as part of the raids. Various documents, CDs, USB storage devices and computers were seized by law agents.

The 10 suspected al-Qaeda members were taken to police headquarters for questioning. Police is investigating if they were preparing a terror attack but no weapons or explosives were found in the operations.

Adana is home to the Incirlik Air Base, which is used by the United States for the transfer of non-combat supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan. In the past, al-Qaeda has planned attacking the U.S. base but security disrupted the attempted terror attacks.

In 2008, an attack attributed to al-Qaeda militants took was perpetrated outside the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul. Three terrorists and three police officers died in the terrorist act.

Islamic militants trained in Afghanistan executed a terror attack at the British consulate, a British bank and two synagogues in Istanbul. A total of 58 people were killed in the 2003 attack.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-07