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Isis has ‘advanced plans to attack Jewish children’ in Turkey, intelligence sources say

Kindergartens, schools and youth centres for Jewish children are at the centre of the plans, according to reports

Alexandra Sims
Monday 28 March 2016 22:38 BST
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Istabul’s synagogue in Beyoglu is understood to the most probable target of the impending attacks
Istabul’s synagogue in Beyoglu is understood to the most probable target of the impending attacks (AP)

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Isis has advanced plans to carry out a terror attack heavily targeting Jewish children in Turkey, according to intelligence officials.

Sky News reports that six operatives from the terror group, arrested in the Turkish city of Gaziantep last week, revealed information about an “imminent” attack.

Istanbul’s synagogue in Beyoglu is understood to be the most probable target of the allegedly impending attacks, which has a community centre and school attached to it.

Kindergartens, schools and youth centres for Jewish children are at the centre of the plans, according to reports.

Turkey blames ISIL for Istanbul attack

An intelligence source told Sky News, “This is a more than credible threat. This is an active plot,” adding the information gathered from the operatives indicated an imminent attack that could be “in the next 24 hours or next few days”.

The source said that in response to the threat, intensive security measures were being put in place, including “undercover” and “covert” round-the-clock terror measures.

The threat comes after a suicide bomber killed four foreign tourists in a busy shopping area of Istanbul on 19 March.

Turkey has identified the bomber as Turkish citizen Mehmet Ozturk and said he had links to the so-called Islamic State group.

Two American-Israelis, another Israeli and an Iranian were among the dead.

Isis has committed atrocities in Turkey at an increasing rate over the past year as the county continues military operations in Kurdish areas in the south east as the Syrian war rages over the border.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called to step up attacks on the terror group after a suicide attack on the border town of Suruc killed 28 people in July last year.

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