Israeli parliamentary Speaker Reuven Rivlin said on Tuesday that suspected bombers involved in the Istanbul synagogue attacks were Turkish nationals with links to Afghanistan and Iran.
”We found out here in Turkey, along with our friends in Turkish intelligence forces, that the two terrorists, actually Turkish civilians, were educated in Afghanistan and trained in Iran,” Rivlin said at a news conference in Istanbul.
He was speaking after attending the funeral of the six Jews who were among the 25 people killed when suicide bombers detonated explosives-laden trucks at two synagogues in old Istanbul on Saturday.
Turkish press reports on Tuesday named four local Islamists as suspects in the bombings, although it is not yet clear how many of them may actually have been killed or been at the scene of the attacks.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said clues uncovered in the investigation suggested a link with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, but added that a definite conclusion could be drawn only after the completion of DNA tests.
”We see that a link has emerged with that organisation in Afghanistan at least on the level of mentality and ideology,” he said.
An Arabic newpaper reported this week that a branch of al-Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the attacks. — Sapa-AFP