Turkey Questions Qaida Suspects
Thirteen al-Qaida suspects including two reported senior operatives appeared before Turkish prosecutors on Thursday after being arrested by anti-terror police this week.
They were among a total of 25 people detained Tuesday in police raids in six cities targeting al-Qaida in Turkey and a government-linked Islamic charity.
Media reports named two of the suspects as Halis Balyoncuk, said to be in charge of al-Qaida in Turkey and Ibrahim Sen, its second-in-command in the Middle East.
However, their identities could not be confirmed.
The suspects are accused of sending fighters to Syria, raising money for Syrian rebels, and providing arms for al-Qaida.
In Tuesday's raids, police also searched the premises of the government-sponsored charity the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and detained one of its staff members.
The charity, which has been accused of trying to smuggle arms to Syria, denied any link between its staff and al-Qaida and branded the raids a "smear campaign" linked to the political crisis embroiling the government.
Source: Agence France Presse
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