World News 17-11-2003 Al-Qaeda Claims Synagogue Bombs who: Brigades of the Martyr Abu Hafz al-Masri what: Claim responsibility for bombing of synagogues where: Istanbul when: Yesterday snippet: "Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts at two Istanbul synagogues which killed at least 23 people," says The Scotsman. "The Arabic newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi said it had received a statement apparently from Osama bin Laden’s terror network, admitting to Saturday’s devastating attacks, in which 303 people were injured, 71 of whom are in hospital." "Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to call a cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss the attacks," reports the BBC. "Our security teams, our intelligence services have to work to determine the extent of truth of the claims," he says. The Brigades of the Martyr Abu Hafz al-Masri, who also claimed responsibility for the devastating bombing at the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in August, told the London-based newspaper that they had bombed the two synagogues because five "Jewish intelligence agents" were inside. "The Jews of Turkey, and the survival of their precious and unique culture, are one of the few enduring examples of tolerance through the ages that humanity has left to cling to," says The Guardian`s Fiachra Gibbons. "So when six die, as they did on Saturday morning when their blood mingled with that of their Muslim neighbours blown to bits by a suicide bomber outside the Neve Shalom synagogue, the heart should miss a beat and the world weep." [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!