Terror bomb suspects to face court

Several suspected accomplices of the suicide bombers who struck in Istanbul last week were expected to be brought before a court to face charges today, a leading Turkish newspaper reported.

Defying government restrictions on reporting the investigation, the Milliyet daily added that police using DNA testing had identified an Islamic militant who rammed an explosives-laden pickup truck into the British Consulate.

The paper said charges could be brought against the 18 people detained after Thursday’s twin bombings of the consulate and the local headquarters of a London-based bank that killed 30 people, including the bombers.

Milliyet quoted police sources who named the bomber as Feridun Ugurlu, a Turk believed to have fought with Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

The daily said skin and blood samples found on the wreckage of the truck matched DNA samples of his father.

Police refused to confirm the report.

Before Thursday’s attacks on the consulate and the HSBC bank, Ugurlu was named by the Turkish media as an accomplice to two suicide bombers who attacked synagogues in Istanbul on November 15, killing 23 people.

At least three groups or individuals with purported links to the al-Qaida network claimed responsibility for the attacks, although Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday it was too early to confirm al-Qaida involvement.

Two pickup trucks used to attack the Neve Shalom synagogue and the HSBC bank were bought by Ugurlu from the same dealer, Milliyet reported.

One of the pickup trucks was registered in the name of Ugurlu’s father, Ahmet Ugurlu, who has been interrogated by police, the paper added.

The bodies of the three British victims of Thursday’s attack, including Consul General Roger Short, were expected to be flown back to Britain in the coming days, British officials said. An Australian woman and two Armenians were also killed in the bombings, but most victims in all four bombings were Turkish Muslims.

Erdogan vowed yesterday that the attacks would not dissuade his nation from seeking to become the first Muslim member of the European Union. Turkey - already the only Muslim nation in NATO – could become a bridge of understanding between east and west, he said.