Al Qaeda’s brain was captured in Turkey

The Turkish citizen, whose name is being withheld, apparently supervised five terrorist training camps for Turks in Afghanistan, and spent the last two years forming an Al Qaeda cell in Turkey. However, the police believe he is not responsible for the bomb attacks, in which 57 people were killed and 712 were seriously injured.

According to a statement issued by the Istanbul Police Department Anti-terror and Intelligence Unit, the suspect, who was captured in Istanbul, lived in Afghanistan in 1994, supervised training camps there and recruited operatives for Turkey. He is also believed to have been in contact with 450 people who were trained in Afghanistan and facilitated communication between these people and Al Qaeda when they returned to Turkey.

The suspect, who is considered a key figure, will be interrogated by the Anti-terror Unit. By widening the scope of its investigations and also following Al Qaeda’s activities in Turkey, the police have made important breakthroughs regarding the terrorist attacks. Yusuf Polat, who police stated kept watch during the attack on the Beth Israel Synagogue and who obtained intelligence before the attack, was also arrested, in Agri.