Turkey: Al-Qaida Planned to Bomb US Embassy

Al-Qaida planned to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Turkey, as well as a synagogue and other targets, Turkish police said on Thursday.

Authorities said a February raid on the houses of two al-Qaida cells led to the discovery of 50 pounds of plastic explosives with detonation systems attached, as well as six laptop computers and other evidence, The New York Times reports.

Twelve people — two Chechens, two Azeris and eight Turks — were arrested, the Times reports.

According to the Times, forensic analysis of the computers and other documents showed plans for bomb attacks on the embassy in Ankara, the private Rahmi M. Koc Museum, and a synagogue in Istanbul.

Photographs, floor plans, and other data were found concerning the targets and the residences, and the offices of two popular Turks, officials told the Times.

After the raid, the American Embassy issued a travel warning, but then said the Turkish National Police had not provided specific threat information, the Times reports.

Turkish police said the raid resulted from surveillance of a man said to be an al-Qaida member who came to Turkey two years ago. He had been trained by the terrorist group in Afghanistan.

In February, the American Embassy in Turkey was attacked by a suicide bomber that left a Turkish security guard dead and a local resident seriously injured, the Times reports.

That attack was attributed to an extreme left-wing organization, not Islamic militants, according to the Times.