Suspected al-Qaida-linked NATO bomb plotters held

Turkish police have arrested 16 suspected al-Qaida linked militants believed to have been planning a bomb attack during a NATO summit in Istanbul in June.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush are expected to attend the meeting.

The 16 were held in an operation in the north-western province of Bursa, a police statement said.

It said the suspects were members of the Ansar al-Islam, a group linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network, but gave no further details.

The NATO summit will mark the formal entry into the alliance of Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia.