ANKARA - The Gendarme Forces Command has stated, ''Hilmi Tugluoglu, who is believed to have linked to Azat Ekinci, a key suspect in Istanbul bombings, his wife and 20 other suspects were handed over by Syria to Turkey.''
Releasing a statement late on Sunday, the Gendarme Forces Command noted, ''the Directorate General of Security informed our command that some people who have been allegedly involved in bombings on Jewish and British targets in Istanbul on November 15 and 20, 2003 in which 57 people were killed and 712 others were wounded, fled Turkey following the suicide attacks.''
''As a result of works of gendarme intelligence units, it was revealed that Aykut A. Ekinci, Gurcan Bac, Abdulkadir Karakus, Burhan Kus, Hilmi Tugluoglu and his wife Leyla Tugluoglu were in Syria. An immediate contact was set up with Syria by the Gendarme Forces Command, which is charged with coordinating the security and cooperation issues between the two countries under the Adana Agreement,'' it said.
''Syria has repatriated Hilmi Tugluoglu, who is believed to have linked to Azat Ekinci, a key suspect in Istanbul bombings, his wife and 20 other people suspected of involvement in quadruple suicide attacks,'' it said.
The statement added that the suspects had been interrogated at the Provincial Gendarme Command in southern province of Hatay.
Earlier, Ekinci was named as a key accomplice in the bombings. He is believed to have provided the pickup trucks containing the bombs which were used in suicide attacks on Istanbul's two main synagogues.
(UK) 01.12.2003