Turks Arrest 3 More In Bombings

A Turkish court on Wednesday arraigned three more alleged accomplices in the Istanbul suicide bombings on charges they belonged to an illegal organization and aided an illegal organization, news reports said.

The charges, which are related to the bombings of the British Consulate and a British bank, are punishable by up to five years in prison and follow the arrests of 15 other people earlier this week.

A prosecutor had also petitioned the court to also take another suspect into custody, but that request was denied, the Anatolia news agency reported. Private CNN-Turk and NTV television channels said that suspect had been freed pending trial, but faced similar charges.

Two of new suspects are women.

Four suicide bombings killed a total of 57 people in attacks on two synagogues on Nov. 15 and two other simultaneous bombings of the British Consulate and a British bank five days later.

On Tuesday, 15 suspected accomplices were charged in connection with the bombings, accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order or helping illegal organizations. No trial date was set.

Earlier Wednesday, police questioned 18 Turkish suspects, including four women.

"There are new detentions and they will continue," Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said.

Police also raided several houses and offices believed to be used by Islamic militants and confiscated material used to make bombs, the daily Vatan reported. Police declined to confirm the report. It was not clear when the raids took place.

Three of the 18 who were questioned Wednesday were women wearing full-length black chadors that are uncommon in downtown Istanbul. The other woman wore an Islamic-style head scarf. Police carried one woman's baby into the court.

Fourteen of the 18, including an Iraqi with Swedish citizenship, were released without charges, Anatolia reported.

Britain on Tuesday warned further attacks may be imminent in Istanbul and Ankara. Meanwhile, UEFA on Tuesday switched three upcoming European club matches from Turkey to neutral venues because of security fears.

Turkey's government and sports officials criticized the decision, saying it amounted to a victory for terrorists.

The attacks also forced organizers to postpone a Dec. 6 Best Model of The World contest to March, daily Hurriyet quoted organizer Erkan Ozerkan as saying. Ozerkan said the decision was taken because many finalists feared traveling to Turkey.

Turkish officials have said all four suicide bombers in the four attacks were Turkish nationals. Newspapers have said some of them could have been trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan or Iran. There have been at least three claims of responsibility claiming to be from al Qaeda but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said it was too early to say for sure that al Qaeda was behind the attacks.

Police are also investigating possible links between the bombers and Hezbollah, an illegal Islamic group that is not linked to the Lebanon-based group with the same name. Three of the suicide bombers were from the southeastern town of Bingol — a hotbed of Hezbollah.