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[Mesut Cabuk], Elaltuntas and two suspected accomplices, Azad Ekinci and Feridun Ugurlu, were born in the Kurdish town of Bingol in south- east Turkey. Ekinci, Ugurlu and Cabuk are thought to have received training in Pakistan. Bingol, a stronghold of the separatist Kurdistan Workers party (PKK), ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Irish times
Main Author OWEN BOWCOTT and NICHOLAS BIRCH
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dublin The Irish Times DAC 21.11.2003
Subjects
Cabuk, Mesut
ISTANBUL
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Summary:[Mesut Cabuk], Elaltuntas and two suspected accomplices, Azad Ekinci and Feridun Ugurlu, were born in the Kurdish town of Bingol in south- east Turkey. Ekinci, Ugurlu and Cabuk are thought to have received training in Pakistan. Bingol, a stronghold of the separatist Kurdistan Workers party (PKK), has also been a centre of activity for the PKK's arch-enemy, Turkish Hizbullah. Ekinci is thought to have been a Hizbullah member between 1990 and 1993. What role the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front, a similar militant group which has targeted Christian sites in Istanbul, played in the latest attacks remains unclear. Turkish terrorism experts are, however, convinced the suicide bombers were working as sub-contractors for al-Qaeda.