Special to WorldTribune.com
JERUSALEM — Israelis have again been warned against travel to
Turkey.
The government’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau asserted that Islamist cells
were planning to attack Israelis and Jews in Turkey. The bureau, part of the
National Security Council, said the attack was imminent and could target
synagogues or places where Israelis congregate.
“Terror groups are planning to carry out attacks against Jewish and
Israeli sites inside Turkey in the coming days,” the bureau said on March 13.
Officials said Israel has sought to cooperate with Turkey to foil any
attack. They said Iran was working with Hizbullah and other proxies to conduct a major strike on the Israeli embassy or consulate in Ankara and Istanbul.
The Turkish media reported that the Mossad determined that four members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps entered Turkey to execute the strike. The media said Mossad relayed the details to Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency.
Officials said intelligence cooperation between Ankara and Jerusalem has declined significantly since 2010 in wake of the Israeli interception of a Turkish-flagged ship destined for the Gaza Strip. They said Israel has often been forced to obtain intelligence on threats in Turkey from other
countries, particularly France and the United States.
“The truth needs to be said — there is a sort of cooperation between
the terrorists and the local security forces in Turkey,” former
Counter-Terrorism Bureau director Nitzan Nuriel told the IsraelDefense
web site. “The terrorists are operating in a convenient arena, in which there
are many targets, and they know they will not pay a price for it.”
On March 13, Azerbaijan arrested 22 people suspected of plotting to blow
up Israeli and U.S. targets in Baku. Officials said IRGC, also cited for
plots in Georgia, India and Thailand, was believed to have planned the
attacks on Israeli and U.S. embassies.
“On orders of Sepah [IRGC], they were to commit terrorist acts against
the U.S., Israeli and other Western embassies and their employees,” the
Azeri National Security Ministry said on March 14.
Report: Mossad warns Turkey Iran agents have entered country for terror strikes added by World Tribune on
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