A notebook containing instructions in Turkish on how to carry out suicide bombings found in a deserted al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan was the first, solid evidence of a link between Turkish militant Islamic groups and Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
Since the manual was found in late 2001, Turkish authorities have been on the trail of possible links between local extremist Islamic groups and al-Qaeda. Devastating suicide blasts at Istanbul synagogues on Saturday have added urgency to the investigation.
Two Turkish suicide bombers and their Turkish accomplices who sympathized with al-Qaeda carried out the synagogue attacks, Turkey's foreign minister said.
"It will be determined whether these people worked directly with al-Qaeda or are just sympathizers," Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday by telephone from Stockholm, Sweden. "The first impression is that these people seemed to have the same mindset of al-Qaeda, they have the same concept, they are from the same school."
Gul said two Turkish terrorists launched the suicide attacks outside the Neve Shalom and Beth Israel synagogues.
"Two Turks carried out the suicide attacks but there were other Turks involved too," Gul said, adding that DNA tests on the suspects would be completed soon.
Gul declined to reveal the identities of the suspects.
Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility in the attack, although the claims have yet to be authenticated.
Links between Turkish militants and al-Qaeda are strong, said Ziad Abdelnour, an international terrorism expert.
"The ties are both broad and deep," Abdelnour said. "Al-Qaeda is known to have extensive relationships with every militant Islamic grouping in the world; whether in Turkey or elsewhere."
Like Afghanistan, Turkey is predominantly Muslim but not Arab. Most Turks consider bin Laden a criminal but a few hard-line Muslims support him. Muslim fighters from Turkey are known to have fought in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya.
NATO's sole Muslim member and a key US ally in the Middle East, Turkey has come under severe criticism from Iran and its Arab neighbors -- Iraq and Syria -- for developing close military ties with Israel since the 1990s.
Turkey has long said its military cooperation with Israel was not aimed against a third country, but that has hardly convinced extremists in the Middle East.
In return, Turkey has accused Iran of fueling radical Islamic groups in Turkey and Syria of harboring Kurdish rebels, including rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan until four years ago.
"Turkey's friendship with Israel and the United States always makes it vulnerable to terrorist attacks," said Nihat Ali Ozcan, a Turkish terrorism expert.
The handwritten notes, found in the Darunta training camp near the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, were apparently taken during a class and include a section on how someone on a motorcycle can assassinate a person riding in a car, as well as details of how to carry out suicide bombings, Turkish media have reported.
"Turkish leaders very much underestimate what their local groups along with al-Qaeda backing and support can do," Abdelnour said.
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