ISTANBUL: Turkish police have summoned an FBI official stationed in Turkey in connection with testimony in a US federal corruption case against a Turkish banker, Turkey’s official news agency reported.
Anadolu Agency said the FBI attache was “invited” to speak to officials after a former Turkish deputy police chief reportedly told a jury in New York that the FBI paid him $50,000 and US prosecutors covered his rent. Anadolu did not name the attache.
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed an FBI official was “brought into the Turkish ministry.” The American case has further strained already tense relations between Turkey and the US
The testimony in the US involved the former Turkish deputy police chief, Huseyin Korkmaz, who was part of a law enforcement team leading a corruption probe in 2013 in Turkey. He was later arrested in a 2014 investigation for alleged links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was later blamed for a 2016 coup attempt.
Korkmaz said he fled Turkey after the coup, with evidence allegedly showing collusion by top Turkish government officials in a money-laundering scheme evading US sanctions on Iran.
Korkmaz is testifying in the trial against banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who has pleaded not guilty. The star witness against Atilla is a Turkish-Iranian gold trader who pleaded guilty and said he bribed a former Turkish economy minister and the former manager of state-owned Halkbank.
Turkey calls the 2013 corruption probe “a judicial coup” by Gulen’s network and a precursor to the 2016 coup.
Gulen denies all involvement.
Turkey summons FBI attache over testimony in US trial
Turkey summons FBI attache over testimony in US trial
Israel army says killed six Gaza militants despite ceasefire
- The military said that it had killed two of six militants it had identified adjacent to its troops in western Rafah and that tanks had fired on them
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Wednesday it had killed six militants in an updated toll from an exchange of fire in Gaza the day before, accusing them of violating the ceasefire in the territory.
The military said in a statement late on Tuesday that it had killed two of six militants it had identified adjacent to its troops in western Rafah and that tanks had fired on them.
It said they were killed in an ensuing exchange of fire, including aerial strikes, while troops continued to search for the rest.
In a statement on Wednesday, the military said that “following searches that were conducted in the area, it is now confirmed that troops eliminated the six terrorists during the exchange of fire.”
It said the presence of the militants adjacent to troops and the subsequent incident were a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
A security source in Gaza reported late on Tuesday that Israeli forces had “opened fire west of Rafah city.”
Under a truce that entered into force in October following two years of war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces in Gaza withdrew to positions behind a demarcation known as the “yellow line.”
The city of Rafah is located behind the yellow line, under Israeli army control. The area beyond the yellow line remains under Hamas authority.
Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating the ceasefire.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, which operates under Hamas authority, at least 165 children have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began on October 10.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Tuesday that at least 100 children — 60 boys and 40 girls — had been killed since the truce.
Israeli forces have killed a total of at least 447 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the ministry.
The Israeli army says militants have killed three of its soldiers during the same period.
