Ankara, May 04: A group of militants arrested in Turkey on suspicion of plotting an attack on a NATO summit were trained in Pakistan and were planning to carry out a suicide mission against US President George W Bush at the meeting, Turkish newspersons said today. A court in northwestern Turkey yesterday charged nine suspects, believed to be linked to the al-Qaeda network, in connection with an alleged plan to bomb the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which takes place in Istanbul on June 28 and 29 with Bush and other world leaders in attendance.

The Hurriyet newspaper said the suspects, who were detained in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa, had admitted that they planned to make a suicide attack on Bush when he attends the summit. Both Hurriyet and the Vatan newspaper said that several members of the group had been trained in Pakistan in carrying out suicide missions.

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The two papers also said that at least one member of the group had been trained in flying gliders.

The reports also said that the suspects were in possession of cassettes attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, subtitled into Turkish, calling for a jihad, or holy war, against the United States. Turkish police said the suspects were arrested in possession of an impressive arsenal of bomb-making equipment including timers, chemicals and instruction manuals.

They also said they had seized plans for an attack against a bank, and a synagogue in Bursa. Bureau Report