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CNN Saturday Morning News
Investigation into Deadly Bombings on Jewish and British Targets in Turkey
Aired November 22, 2003 - 09:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: To Turkey now, and the investigation into those deadly bombing attacks on Jewish and British targets.
CNN's Mike Boettcher joins us by phone from Istanbul with the very latest on the investigation.
So Mike, I see now that the prime minister of Turkey is saying that the suspects are Turkish citizens, is that right?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Yes, Andrea, all four are Turkish suspects, and all four are believed to have links with al Qaeda and to have traveled extensively in the jihadist world, stretching from Chechnya, to Bosnia, to Iran, and to other countries in the region.
There is a newspaper report here that 18 people have been arrested. It seems this stems from a focus of the Turkish national security council meeting yesterday, in which they were given a report there that said there were 1,050 Turkish militants in this country who had trained or fought overseas with jihadist movements. For example, 62 in Chechnya, 40 or 50 in Afghanistan, and 230 in Bosnia, and 3 in an unnamed Arab country.
So the focus seems to be on these jihadists, Turkish jihadists, who had fought overseas. And also the focus is on motive and forensics, how the bomb was constructed and how that might lead them to the final culprit in these multiple bombings over the last six, seven days.
KOPPEL: Mike, you said that they have links to al Qaeda. But is there any sense as to just how high up on the food chain they are?
BOETTCHER: This is an initial belief here, and this comes from European intelligence sources and intelligence sources in this region, who believe that this was not an order given from the top al Qaeda leadership, from Osama bin Laden, so to speak, but that the motive for this may not have been as part of the general war on terror, but perhaps to influence Turkish policy in Iraq. And that would bring it to the level of those associated with al Qaeda who were launching attacks both in Iraq and here in Turkey.
KOPPEL: All right. Mike Boettcher, on the phone from Istanbul, Turkey. Mike, thanks for that report.
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Targets in Turkey>
Aired November 22, 2003 - 09:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: To Turkey now, and the investigation into those deadly bombing attacks on Jewish and British targets.
CNN's Mike Boettcher joins us by phone from Istanbul with the very latest on the investigation.
So Mike, I see now that the prime minister of Turkey is saying that the suspects are Turkish citizens, is that right?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Yes, Andrea, all four are Turkish suspects, and all four are believed to have links with al Qaeda and to have traveled extensively in the jihadist world, stretching from Chechnya, to Bosnia, to Iran, and to other countries in the region.
There is a newspaper report here that 18 people have been arrested. It seems this stems from a focus of the Turkish national security council meeting yesterday, in which they were given a report there that said there were 1,050 Turkish militants in this country who had trained or fought overseas with jihadist movements. For example, 62 in Chechnya, 40 or 50 in Afghanistan, and 230 in Bosnia, and 3 in an unnamed Arab country.
So the focus seems to be on these jihadists, Turkish jihadists, who had fought overseas. And also the focus is on motive and forensics, how the bomb was constructed and how that might lead them to the final culprit in these multiple bombings over the last six, seven days.
KOPPEL: Mike, you said that they have links to al Qaeda. But is there any sense as to just how high up on the food chain they are?
BOETTCHER: This is an initial belief here, and this comes from European intelligence sources and intelligence sources in this region, who believe that this was not an order given from the top al Qaeda leadership, from Osama bin Laden, so to speak, but that the motive for this may not have been as part of the general war on terror, but perhaps to influence Turkish policy in Iraq. And that would bring it to the level of those associated with al Qaeda who were launching attacks both in Iraq and here in Turkey.
KOPPEL: All right. Mike Boettcher, on the phone from Istanbul, Turkey. Mike, thanks for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Targets in Turkey>
