Turkey: Van Packed with 660 lbs of Sodium Nitrate Found in a Multistory Parking Lot

A Stolen van, 660 lbs of fertilizer, and a possible cellphone trigger device… Hmm, I wonder who could be responsible??? 

Van With Explosives Found in Turkey
By SEBNEM ARSU

ISTANBUL, Sept. 11 — The Turkish police found a van packed with an explosive chemical in a multistory parking lot in central Ankara today, according to the city’s top official.

The van, a Mercedes model, was found by bomb-sniffing dogs who were part of a heavy security measures in Turkey’s capital on the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, said the official, Kemal Onal, at a televised news conference.

“The meticulous work by the police prevented a possible disaster,” Mr. Onal said. “I do not even want to think about what would have happened if the attack had succeeded.”

Mr. Onal declined to give more information on the device, but NTV, a privately owned television station, reported that officials from the bomb squad said they had found about 660 pounds of sodium nitrate, a chemical fertilizer that becomes explosive if mixed with other chemicals.

The Ankara police immediately cordoned off a surrounding three-mile area and emptied buildings nearby as fire brigades and ambulances stood by, according to news reports.

Cellphone service in the neighborhood was also temporarily disabled to prevent any possible remote control activity, NTV reported.

The use of the large van, which was reported stolen about a week ago and had a fake license plate, recalled memories of two sets of coordinated attacks in Istanbul in 2003, the worst Turkey has ever suffered.

On Nov. 11 that year, vehicles laden with explosives rammed into two synagogues, and then a week later, similar attacks were made on the Turkish HSBC bank headquarters and the British Consulate. In all, more than 60 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.

Six Turks and a Syrian, all said to have links to Al Qaeda, were tried, convicted and jailed for life in Istanbul for their involvement.

Kurdish separatists have also carried out bombings in Turkey.

Sept. 12 is the anniversary of the 1980 military coup, a date that still rankles the separatists as well as extreme groups on the left and right.

Explore posts in the same categories: Al-Qaeda, Terrorists, Turkey