Wire: Turkey Nabs 50 Suspected al-Qaida-Linked Militants

Off the Wire:

Group planned attacks against U.S. targets -- may have trained in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2009 -- Newswire services today reported that Turkish police have detained at least 50 suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in raids across nine provinces.

Local media say the militants, thought to be members of a group (the Islamic Jihad League) tied to al-Qaida, were planning attacks against U.S., Israeli and NATO targets in Turkey.

VOA News noted that local media reports say the suspects may have had contact with al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, and may have been trained in Afghanistan.

Turkey's Hurriyet daily says police Thursday seized an unlicensed gun, documents, compact discs and laptops during a search of homes and offices of suspected al-Qaida members in the eastern province of Van.

(Report from newswire sources.)