ISTANBUL - Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah said on Thursday that there was no concrete evidence that Azad Ekinci, head of the formation of terrorist organization Al Qaida in Turkey who plotted four bomb attacks in Istanbul in November 2003, died in the suicide attack in Iraq.
Cerrah told reporters that news that Ekinci staged the suicide attack on a police station in the west of Iraq on December 14, 2003 in which 18 people, including 16 policemen lost their lives, and died in that attack did not reflect the facts.
''There is no concrete evidence that Ekinci died in this attack,'' Cerrah said.
Meanwhile, a high-level official in Istanbul Police Department said that Syrian intelligence unit informed Turkey that Ekinci was with a group which crossed from Syria to Iraq 15 days ago.
The same official stated that news that Ekinci died in the suicide attack in Iraq was published in two newspapers in Iraq.
The news could be spread on purpose by the terrorist organization to enable Ekinci and other top members of the organization to move easily, the official noted.
The official said that Turkey was in contact with international intelligence units related with the suicide attack in Iraq.
As a result of those contacts, Turkey learned that person who staged the mentioned suicide attack could not be identified, the official stated.
The official said that Turkey would definitely have information if Azad Ekinci staged that attack.
Noting that Ekinci had not spoken to his family by phone for a long time, the same official said that it could be possible to learn Ekinci's place in case he had called his family.
Twin bomb attacks were staged on two synagogues in Istanbul on November 15, 2003. These attacks were followed by two bomb attacks on November 20, 2003. November 20 attacks were staged on HSBC Bank headquarters and British Consulate General in Istanbul.
Twenty-five people died and 262 people were injured in the attacks which were staged by two pick-up trucks loaded with explosives on two synagogues.
Thirty-three people died, including British Consul General in Istanbul Roger Short, and 450 others were injured in the twin suicide attacks which were also staged by two pick-up trucks.
Ekinci was wanted by police on charges of being the person behind these four attacks in Istanbul.
(BRC-AÖ) 29.01.2004