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| Turkish police raids al-Nusra safe house in Adana. |
The Turkish Republican Prosecutor in Adana has issued a
132-page indictment, alleging that six members of the al-Qaeda-aligned al-Nusra
Front and Ahrar ash-Sham – one Syrian and five Turks – tried to acquire
chemicals with the intent to produce the chemical weapon sarin. The Turkish newspaper Radikal reports that the suspects were under surveillance by Turkish
police after they received information that the al-Nusra members tried to
acquire two government-regulated military-grade chemical substances. 11 people were arrested in their safe house in the city of Adana in southeastern Turkey on May 23, 2013,
after they had acquired some of the chemicals.
Initial reports in the media said
that the jihadists had been in possession of 2.2 kg Sarin gas when arrested. Five
of the detained jihadists were released by Turkish police after interrogation
and background checks. Media reports indicates that the five released were
Turkish nationals who shortly after being released joined al-Nusra Front in
Syria.
In the indictment, the prosecutor names the 35-year-old Syrian-national
Hytham Qassap (codenamed “Abu Salah”) as the buyer and leader of the group. The
five Turkish-nationals: 52-year-old Halit Usta, 47-year-old Halit Ünalkaya,
50-year-old İbrahim Akça, 43-year-old Bekir Karaoğlan, and 40-year-old Raif Ay,
are named as Qassap’s logistics men. The Turkish nationals were released on
bail after laboratory results showed that the chemical substance in their
possession during arrest had not been sarin. But the prosecutor kept Qassab in
detention, since surveillance tapes indicated discussions regarding acquisition
of large amounts of chemical substances with the intent to produce sarin. All
six jihadists deny the accusations.
Qassab is being charged with “being a
member of a terrorist organization” and “attempting to acquire weapons for a
terrorist organization.” The other five members are being charged with “attempting
to acquire weapons for a terrorist organization.” If guilty, Qassab could
receive a 25 year prison sentence. His friends could receive 15 years each.
The prosecutor's indictment lists the following items as attempted to be
acquired by the jihadists:
- Timed fuses
- Chrome pipes
- Thionyl Chloride (SOCl2)
- Potassium Fluoride (KF)
- Methanol (CH3OH)
- Isopropanol (C3H8O)
- Isopropanolamine (C3H9NO)
- White Phosphorus (P4)
- Medical Glucose
- Bauxite
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