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Turkish police foil bomb attack in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, June 21, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish police said Wednesday they had detained two suspected Kurdish rebels in possession of 5.7 kilos (12.5 pounds) of plastic explosives believed intended for attacks in Istanbul.

In a statement carried by the Anatolia news agency, police said the suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were detained last week in a joint operation with the national intelligence service.

A third person was also detained for aiding and abetting the militants, the statement said.

A shadowy Kurdish group that calls itself the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) has claimed several recent bomb attacks in urban centers, including Istanbul, and threatened to target tourist areas.

Turkish officials say TAK is a front the PKK uses for attacks on civilian targets; the PKK claims TAK is a splinter group over which it has no control.

More than 37,000 people have died in Turkey since 1984, when the PKK, blacklisted as a "terrorist organisation" by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast of the country.