Turkish police have detained 10 people suspected of links to the Al-Qaeda extremist network and of plotting attacks on Israeli cruise ships in southern Turkey, security sources said.
The suspects, one of them a Syrian, were detained several days ago in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, home to some of Turkey's most popular resorts, which attract millions of foreign tourists each year, said the sources, who requested anonymity.
They were believed to be planning to attack Israeli cruise ships on behalf of Al-Qaeda, they said.
Israel's counter-terrorism unit Monday warned Israeli holidaymakers to avoid a strip of Turkey's Mediterranean coast between the resorts of Alanya and Kemer, in Antalya province, citing credible intelligence of a potential attack.
On Friday, Israeli authorities ordered four Israeli cruise ships scheduled to dock in Alanya to change course to Cyprus for fear of a possible attack.
The sources said the Syrian suspect, identified only by his initials, N.S., has been taken to to Istanbul and for questioning by anti-terror police in connection with suicide bombings that killed 63 and wounded hundreds others in Istanbul on November 15 and 20, 2003, and blamed on a local Al-Qaeda cell.
The NTV news channel reported that the police had detained at least 10 people linked to Al-Qaeda, among them the Syrian who was allegedly collecting information on Israeli ships travelling to Turkey and on synagogues in the country.
The Syrian, who was carrying forged identity documents, was planning an attack on Israeli ships, the channel said.
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