Turkish police prevented bomb attack on the US Embassy in Ankara

Turkish police detained Chechens, Azeris and Turks linked to Al Qaeda plotting to bomb the United States Embassy in Ankara, reports the NY Times.

Turkish police detained twelve people during the operation — two Chechens, two Azeris and eight Turks. The police had seized nearly 50 pounds of plastic explosives with detonation systems attached, as well as six laptop computers and other evidence. The group was preparing for bomb attacks on the United States Embassy in Ankara, the private Rahmi M. Koc Museum and a synagogue in the Balat district of Istanbul.

The American Embassy was the target of a suicide bomb attack in February that killed a Turkish security guard and severely injured a local resident. The attack was attributed to an extreme left-wing organization, not Islamic militants.