Turkey’s airports have been placed on the second highest level of alert following fears of a September 11-style terrorist attack, it is claimed.
The report comes from a Turkish newspaper, Milliyet, which did not say what the potential target could be.
It said officials held an emergency meeting last week and raised security to ‘yellow’, the second highest level of alert.
Sky News said the newspaper had been told by an “important source” that al Qaeda was planning either to blow up a plane or to hijack one and crash it. The TV news station added that the Turkish government had made no comment about the revelation.
Nearly 70 alleged members of a Turkish al Qaeda cell have been arrested in Turkey following the wave of bomb attacks in Istanbul last year. The British consulate, a London-based bank, and two Turkish synagogues were attacked, with the loss of 60 lives.
