Syria hands over suspects

Published on Monday 1 December 2003 00:00

SYRIA yesterday handed over 22 people suspected of involvement in Turkey’s quadruple suicide bombings in which 61 people, including three Britons, were killed.

The suspects reportedly fled Turkey following the attacks last month on two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank, which occurred within a week of one another.

Reports suggested the 22 people included Hilmi Tuglaoglu, said to be close to Azat Ekinci, a central suspect in the blasts. Ekinci is thought to have used fake identities and cash to buy the trucks containing the bombs. It is believed he has travelled to Iran, received explosives training in Pakistan and fought in Chechnya.

The report of the handover to Turkish authorities came amid signs of progress in the investigation.

Over the weekend a Turkish court charged another key suspect, whom police said was captured last week while trying to slip into Iran, with trying to overthrow Turkey’s "constitutional order" - a crime equivalent to treason.

That man, identified only by his initials, ‘YP’, is accused of having given the order to carry out the truck bombing of the Beth Israel synagogue on 15 November.