The Turkish police have arrested five people suspected of links to Al-Qa’ida. According to Turkish daily Zaman, the arrests were made in the Turkish province of Aksaray. The move followed a series of arrests last weekend when 19 people suspected of involvement in Al-Qa’ida operations in the country were detained by police.
A Turkish court ordered five detainees to be held for possible trial. The suspects allegedly belong to a "sleeper cell" which has begun preparing for an attack.
During the arrests, the police seized weapons, ammunition and fake ID cards from the suspects’ homes. They also found pictures of the suspects on military maneuvers in the mountains near Aksaray, the Turkish daily, Sabah, reported Sunday.
Turkish security forces are tightening their security in the country’s major cities ahead of the New Year’s holiday, fearing terror attacks. The Istanbul municipality cancelled its traditional New Year’s Eve party in the city’s main square.
Meanwhile, Israeli security services have explicit intelligence information that Al-Qa’ida cells have infiltrated Turkey and are planning terror attacks against Israeli and American targets, according to Monday’s Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.