Two suspected Al-Qaeda members arrested in Turkey

ANKARA - A Turkish court Friday ordered the arrest of two men on suspicion of Al-Qaeda membership, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The arrests follow the detention in Istanbul Wednesday of 11 other people with alleged links to Al-Qaeda who were reportedly planning attacks in the city.
The two men jailed pending trial in Ankara were believed to have been trained in Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
They rejected the charges in their initial testimonies, saying they had traveled to Afghanistan for a holiday, Anatolia reported.
Seven other people who were interrogated by the police and a prosecutor were released.
A local Al-Qaeda cell was blamed for four November 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul, at two synagogues, the British consulate and a British-owned bank, which claimed 63 lives, left hundreds injured and caused widespread damage.
In February, an Istanbul court sentenced seven Al-Qaeda associates to life in prison over the attacks.
It also gave prison terms ranging from just under four years to 18 years to 41 other suspects on various charges, including being an Al-Qaeda member and assisting the group.

06/01/2007 17:05 GMT