ANKARA, Turkey -- Two Palestinians and a Jordanian with suspected ties to the al-Qaida terror network were detained in eastern Turkey, allegedly on their way to stage a bomb attack in Israel, police said Tuesday.
The suspects were stopped Friday in the eastern province of Van, bordering Iran, after they ignored a police warning to stop at a checkpoint, police spokesman Feyzullah Arslan told a news conference in Ankara.
It is the first arrest of al-Qaida suspects in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim NATO ally that has voiced strong support to the United States' war against terrorism.
The three men were taken to court later Tuesday for questioning by a judge before arraignment.
Arslan said the three men -- identified as Firaz Suleiman, Ahmed Mahmoud and Mustafa Hassan -- entered Turkey illegally from Iran with the help of smugglers who regularly bring illegal immigrants into the country.
The men were planning to travel to Istanbul and then make their way to Israel, where they had received orders to carry out a bomb attack, Arslan said.
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