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Ministry denies reports Turkey warned Iran over al-Qaeda

Türkiye Materials 14 October 2013 05:27 (UTC +04:00)
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected media reports that Turkey diplomatically warned Iran over its alleged attempt to send the Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith to Syria from Turkish soil for anti-Turkey propaganda, Hurriyet reported.
Ministry denies reports Turkey warned Iran over al-Qaeda

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected media reports that Turkey diplomatically warned Iran over its alleged attempt to send the Osama bin Laden's son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith to Syria from Turkish soil for anti-Turkey propaganda, Hurriyet reported.

Turkey has warned Iran over the alleged training of Abu Ghaith, the former spokesman of the al-Qaeda terror network, who was detained by police in Ankara for 33 days and then released in January, the Turkish daily Türkiye reported Oct. 13.

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials, approached by the Hürriyet Daily News, Oct. 13 denied such engagement with their Iranian counterparts about the issue concerning Abu Ghait.

The same officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, underlined that in any case, such matters would be handled by officials from the Interior Ministry and National Security Organization (MİT), but not by their ministry since it was a matter of security.

Abu Ghaith was captured at a luxury hotel in Ankara early this year and detained for 33 days.

Ankara considered Ghaith a "stateless" person, as he was stripped of his Kuwaiti nationality after appearing in videos defending the 9/11 attacks and threatening further violence.

Turkish police also found no criminal record for Abu Ghaith, who entered the country illegally from Iran; he could therefore be deported to Iran or to another country of his choice. After Iran did not accept him, Turkey decided to send him to Kuwait via Jordan. Abu Ghaith was sent to Jordan on March 1, the same day U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Turkey.

The CIA started the operation while Abu Ghaith was passing from Jordan to Kuwait. He was captured and taken to the U.S.

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