Istanbul, Turkey – An alleged al-Qaeda operative accused of serving as a key link between the group’s leaders and suicide bombers hid his tracks so well that even fellow militants thought he was dead.
Loa’i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa, wanted by Turkey in connection with 2003 bombings in Istanbul that killed 58 people, is said to have eluded intelligence services by using an array of fake IDs and aliases even with his al-Qaeda contacts and finally faking his death in Fallujah, Iraq, in late 2004.
The Syrian radical didn’t surface until August, when an accidental explosion forced him to flee his safe house in the Turkish resort of Antalya, police say. Officers reported finding bombmaking materials meant for an attack on an Israeli cruise ship as well as fake IDs and passports from several countries.
Police eventually cornered al-Saqa in southeastern Turkey, and he is awaiting trial on terrorism charges.
His story is an example of how al-Qaeda militants operate in the shadows, changing identities, moving from country to country and covering their tracks. Analysts said his capture was a blow to al-Qaeda since he would be one of only a few people who understood the infrastructure of an organization that lacks permanent, hierarchical links.
