ISTANBUL, Turkey, Nov. 30 - Syria handed over 22 suspects to Turkish authorities

      ISTANBUL, Turkey, Nov. 30 -  Syria handed over 22 suspects to Turkish
authorities Sunday in connection with four recent suicide bombings in
Istanbul, the semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported. The suspects, all
Turks, reportedly fled the country after the attacks, which targeted two
synagogues in near-simultaneous bombings Nov. 15 and the British consulate
and a British bank five days later. A total of 61 people were killed.








            CITING A STATEMENT from paramilitary police, Anatolia said the
suspects included Azat Ekinci and Hilmi Tuglaoglu - both named as central
figures in the attacks. It said the suspects were being questioned.
             News reports have identified Ekinci as a key accomplice in the
synagogue bombings, saying he used fake identities and cash to buy the
pickup trucks containing the bombs. The reports said Ekinci had traveled to
Iran, received military and explosives training in Pakistan between 1997-99,
and fought in Chechnya.
             There were no details about Tuglaoglu's alleged involvement.
             The report came amid signs of progress in the investigation.

      TURK ADMITS TERRORIST TIES
     Newspapers said Yusuf Polat and others had confessed to belonging to a
10-man cell that Polat said was an extension of the al-Qaida terrorist
network.

             A Turkish court on Saturday charged another key suspect, whom
police said was captured last week while trying to slip into Iran, with
trying to overthrow Turkey's "constitutional order" - a crime equivalent to
treason.
             Turkish newspapers reported Sunday that the suspect, a Turk
thought to have ordered a suicide truck bombing at an Istanbul synagogue,
has confessed to having ties with the al-Qaida terrorist network.
             He is accused of having given the order to carry out the Nov.
15 truck bombing of the Beth Israel synagogue - one of four suicide attacks
in Istanbul within a week that killed the 61 people, police said.
             Police have not identified the man, but nearly all major
Turkish newspapers said he was Yusuf Polat. The daily Radikal said Polat was
born in 1974 in Turkey's southeastern province of Malatya.
             The daily Milliyet and other newspapers said Polat and others
had confessed to belonging to a 10-man cell that he said was an extension of
the al-Qaida terrorist network. Police also had evidence that the attacks
had received support domestically and from abroad, Milliyet reported.
             The daily Sabah reported that several members of the cell,
including several of the suicide bombers, had met while training in
Afghanistan. The Cumhuriyet newspaper also said Polat had fought in
Afghanistan.
             Police refused to comment on the reports.

      TREASON CHARGE
     The Anatolia news agency reported Sunday that materials used to make
bombs had been found in a house in Istanbul that was used by Polat.

             Police arrested Polat on Tuesday at the Gurbulak crossing in
eastern Agri province, which borders Iran. Police said he went to the Beth
Israel synagogue before the attack and ordered its start.
             The daily Hurriyet said the man had been tracked down through
his mobile telephone records after allegedly calling a suicide bomber only
minutes before the attack. The Anatolia news agency reported Sunday that
materials used to make bombs had been found in a house in Istanbul that was
used by Polat.
             On Saturday, a court charged Polat with attempting to overthrow
Turkey's constitutional order, an offense punishable by life in prison.
             He was the first major figure charged in connection with the
bombings at the two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank.

      20 PEOPLE CHARGED
             Authorities have charged another 20 people in connection with
the bombings but for lesser roles.
             Turkish authorities have said all the suicide bombers were
Turks.
             On Sunday, Anatolia reported that police had completed DNA
tests on all four bombers.
             The agency said police believe the attack against the HSBC bank
was carried out by Mevlut Ugur. The semiofficial agency provided no details
about Ugur, but said several members of his family had been held for
questioning.
             Newspapers previously speculated that Ekinci, an alleged
militant from the same hometown as two other bombers, or Habip Aktas,
another alleged militant, may have carried out that attack.

      OTHERS NAMED
     Turkey has long accused Tehran of fueling radical Islam in Turkey and
has alleged that members of an Islamic radical group trained in Iran and
received support from its government.

             Anatolia also said Feridun Ugurlu carried out the attack
against the British consulate. Ugurlu is believed to have fought with
Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and Chechnya and his role had widely been
reported by Turkish newspapers.
             Police have been focusing on Turkish fighters who battled in
Chechnya, Afghanistan or Bosnia in the investigation.
             Authorities have previously identified the synagogue suicide
bombers as Mesut Cabuk, 29, and Gokhan Elaltuntas, 22, both from the town of
Bingol in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey.
             Western and Turkish officials say the suicide attacks bore the
hallmarks of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and there have been at least three
claims of responsibility claiming to be from al-Qaida. However, Turkish
officials have said it was too early to say for sure that al-Qaida was
behind the attacks.
             Polat was caught on his way to Iran.
             Turkey has long accused Tehran of fueling radical Islam in
Turkey and has alleged that members of an Islamic radical group suspected in
a series of killings trained in Iran and received support from its
government.
             American counterterrorism officials said last month that
several senior al-Qaida operatives who fled to Iran after the U.S.-led war
in Afghanistan ousted the Taliban may have developed a working relationship
with a secretive military unit linked to Iran's religious hard-liners.
             Iran has said it has some al-Qaida operatives in custody but
has refused to identify them or provide other details.







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