 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Syrian-born radical Luia Sakra made this statement when he was being questioned by security officers in Istanbul, the Zaman (Time) newspaper wrote on Monday. The newspaper said referring to a security officer that al-Qaeda's structure was more like that of a security service than a terrorist organization. The Syrian, whom the Turkish authorities suspect was among those behind the November 2003 terrorist attacks on Istanbul that killed 61 and injured over 600 people, was arrested in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, last week. Simultaneously, a total of 16 people were arrested in the country who are believed to have plotted, under Sakra's command, to blow up a cruise liner in Antalya with Israeli tourists on board. The suspects had prepared about a ton of explosives for the attack. An Istanbul court ruled Sakra should be taken into custody. He was charged with being involved in terrorist activity and being a member of an illegal organization. He faces life imprisonment if convicted. Sakra said al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was not in complete control of the organization, as some of its groups perpetrate terrorist attacks at their own discretion but on the organization's behalf. Sakra said the second bomb attack on London had been one such "unauthorized" act. Sakra said he had sent dozens of people to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States, Britain, Egypt, Syria, and Algeria. He also confessed he had fought against U.S. troops in Falluja, Iraq, along with Abu Musab al-Zargaw, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Sakra said they had held 10 Americans in Falluja whom he had killed "with his own hands." He said al-Zargaw was hiding in northern Iraq. |
