Eighteen al-Qaeda arrests as Pope visits mosque
NICK PISA IN ISTANBUL
POPE Benedict XVI entered a mosque yesterday in an attempt to build bridges with Muslims just hours after a police operation netted 18 al-Qaeda suspects.
Pope Benedict followed custom as he took off his shoes to enter the famous Blue Mosque in the heart of Istanbul on the third day of his visit to Turkey.
Two months ago the German-born pontiff had angered Muslims by giving a speech in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor who said that everything Islam had brought to the world was "inhuman and evil".
Security for his visit was tight and a ring of steel was thrown around the six-towered Blue Mosque and nearby Santa Sophia Museum.
As part of the clampdown and following a threat posted on the internet by an Iraq-based terror group, police carried out a number of arrests ahead of yesterday's visit and held 18 people they said were associated with Osama bin Laden's terror organisation.
Pertinent Links:
1) Eighteen al-Qaeda arrests as Pope visits mosque
Thursday, November 30, 2006
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