US confirms assassination plot against Obama

I know, we don't like to read this, but it is what it is. We live in a world of crazy folk, here and abroad. Never think al-qaead is not alive and well, THEY ARE.

US authorities confirmed that Turkish police have arrested a man who claims to have plotted to kill US President Barack Obama when he visited Turkey.

The Secret Service in Washington said Monday night that Turkish National Police arrested the man last Friday in Istanbul. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the president was never in any immediate danger, as Obama arrived in Turkey on Sunday, two days after the man's arrest.

As standard procedure involving a threat against the president overseas, the Secret Service is following up with Turkish authorities regarding the case and is not releasing any information about the suspect, Donovan said.

On Monday, the Saudi daily Al Watan reportedm that Turkish security services has arrested a man of Syrian descent who was planning to assassinate Obama during his trip to Turkey.

According to the report, the man, who was arrested on Friday, was carrying a press card identifying him as an employee of Al Jazeera. He reportedly confessed to his intention to stab Obama with a knife and said that he was aided by three accomplices.

The report stated that Turkish authorities were still unsure as to whether the press card was a fake or whether it had actually been issued the man by the Qatari news network.

Al-Jazeera's Ankara bureau chief, Yussef al-Sharif, told the paper that news of the suspected assassination plot had come as an utter surprise to the network's staff in Turkey, adding that all of Al-Jazeera's employees in the country claimed that they were not acquainted with the suspect.

Sharif said that the ID card had "most certainly" been forged.

He said that Turkish authorities knew all of the employees of Al-Jazeera's Ankara offices.

UPDATE

The official, who is close to police operations in Turkey, said police detained the suspect — a Turkish national — on Friday after receiving an anonymous e-mail which even gave the suspect's address in Istanbul. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of rules that bar civil servants from speaking to the media without prior authorization.

"There was nothing serious. Police released the man and said he was mentally disturbed," the official said. "The tip turned out to be a hoax. The IP address from which the e-mail was sent was traced to the United States."

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said Monday the president was never in any immediate danger. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who was with Obama in Istanbul on Tuesday, declined to comment on the incident.

Obama did not arrive in Turkey until Sunday, two days after the man's arrest.

"There was no threat to Obama's life," the Turkish official said. "But the police naturally took such a tip seriously."

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