Jailed Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan urged a ceasefire yesterday and Prime Minister Erdogan said government forces would not initiate new operations against PKK forces if they heed Ocalan’s call to withdraw from Turkey and observe a truce. Mohamed Mahmoud, a wanted Austrian-born jihadist linked to al Qaeda, was arrested in Hatay province near […]
Israel-Turkey Strategic Ties Show Signs of Thawing
Prime Minister Erdogan refused to distance himself from the remarks he made at a UN conference last month calling Zionism and Islamophobia both “crime[s] against humanity.” The US had protested the remarks and asked for a retraction. Bomb attacks in Ankara killed one person and injured another.
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Total retreat of militants from Turkey to be complete before June 16 deadline: Report
The Al Nusrah Front, the Al Farouq Brigade, and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Brigade, which controls the mountainous area in Syria’s Latakia province, helped with the recent arrest of five men suspected of bombing the border gate of Cilvegözü. Turkish authorities arrested Ziya T., the top suspect in the murder of Sarai Sierra, a US […]
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Turkish security forces detained four Syrians and a Turk after arresting eight people suspected of involvement in a deadly car bombing last month at the Cilvegözü border gate. The suspects are allegedly linked to the Syrian army and Syrian intelligence. Three of the eight suspects were released; another suspect remains at large.
US and Europe in ‘major airlift of arms to Syrian rebels through Zagreb’
The main opposition party urged the government to clarify its position on al Qaeda after the Turkish envoy to Chad tweeted last month that “al Qaeda is very different from terror.” The party’s deputy chairman also asked why former al Qaeda spokesman Abu Ghaith is still in Turkey after the US reportedly sought his extradition […]
The Turkish military denied claims that German troops manning a Patriot missile battery are being treated badly and that a female German soldier had been pushed and bruised by a Turkish general. A Bundeswehr field report described Turkish cooperation with the German troops as “mostly problematic.”
Prime Minister Erdogan stated that “[j]ust like Zionism … Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity.” A senior US official said Erdogan’s statement calling Zionism a crime against humanity has “a corrosive effect” on relations between the US and Turkey.
Turkey’s Foray Into the Fertile Crescent – NYTimes.com
Israel, Turkey row over Zionism deepens rift between ex-allies
Security forces conducted simultaneous raids in the Çorlu district of Tekirdağ and the Büyükçekmece district of Istanbul, arresting 11 suspected members of al Qaeda and confiscating seized 25 kilos of A-4 type plastic explosives, along with guns, USB flash disks, CDs, and remote-controlled explosive mechanisms. Police also seized plans of the US consulate in Istanbul, […]
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Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said there is no connection between jihad and terrorism and that those who make the connection are “neo-cons and pro-Israelis in America.” When asked if Turkey considered the Al Nusrah Front a terrorist organization, the foreign minister avoided answering and called the questioner an Orientalist.
Indian pays for Iran oil in rupees, Turkey route halted: sources
The President of the European Federation of Journalists said terror charges against 46 Turkish journalists for “normal journalistic activity” are “shocking.” A French-Turkish university student who had protested for free education and attended a concert by a left-wing band was sentenced to five years in jail on terrorism charges.
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Bombing on Syria border may have targeted opposition leader
Code Name ‘Murat’: What Germany Knew About Ankara Bomber
A car with a Syrian license plate exploded at the Cilvegözü border gate on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, killing 13 civilians and wounding 28 more. The incident occurred near a rebel rear base in northern Syria where disputes between rebel fighters and the jihadist Al Nusrah Front have broken out in recent weeks.
The Turkish Parliament ratified a bill on terror financing which may prevent Turkey from being blacklisted with Iran and North Korea by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Turkey’s Western allies reportedly believe that the bill will be insufficient.