Turkey denies claims intelligence officers captured in Syria

[DUIC]

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported this weekend that more than 40 Turkish intelligence officers have been captured by the Syrian army and that Turkey has been conducting intensive negotiations with Syria in order to secure the intelligence officers' release. Syria, on the other hand, says the Turks' release is conditioned on the extradition of officers and soldiers that defected from the Syrian army to join the opposition, who are currently in Turkey, the report said.

Syria also conditioned the continuation of the negotiations on Turkey's blockade of weapon transfers and passage of soldiers from the rebels' Free Syrian Army through its territory, Haaretz said. It also demanded that Iran sponsor the negotiations to release the Turkish officers.

According to the report, Turkey rejected the Syrian demands, something, which the report says, is a sign that Ankara could further harden its stance on Syria.

Syria, on the other hand, has recently published "confessions" that it allegedly gathered from the Turkish officers that they were trained by Israel's Mossad and given instructions to carry out bombings to undermine the country's security. According to the Syrians, one of the Turkish officers said that Mossad also trains soldiers from the Free Syrian Army and that Mossad agents came to Jordan to train al-Qaeda officials to send to Syria to carry out attacks.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-271843-turkey-denies-claims-intelligence-officers-captured-in-syria.html

Interesting...I was always under the assumption that countries like Iran and Turkey are completely incapable of taking any actions on their own part, always needing impetus from Israel or the US. Yet, here we have a story about Turkey spying on Syria without any encouragement from Israel. Who would have thought that.

[tabatha]

1. What a load of conflicting nonsense.

"confessions" that it allegedly gathered from the Turkish officers that they were trained by Israel's Mossad and given instructions to carry out bombings to undermine the country's security. According to the Syrians, one of the Turkish officers said that Mossad also trains soldiers from the Free Syrian Army and that Mossad agents came to Jordan to train al-Qaeda officials to send to Syria to carry out attacks.

"Mossad agents came to Jordan to train al-Qaeda officials to send to Syria to carry out attacks." LOL.

The Al-Qaeda-like attacks were actually performed by the regime, according to a defector.

[DetlefK]

2. Why not? Turkey shares a long uncontrollable border with Syria and Iraq.

Trouble with the Kurds in the east and in Iraq and now civil war in Syria. And several rumored cases in which syrian soldiers entered Turkey to kidnap syrian rebels/refugees.

I am more surprised, that Turkey doesn't recognize the rebels as being more than gangs, thugs, terrorists and foreign agents.

Assad is toast. Let's assume he kills every single rebel: The sanctions are already killing his economy.
And once his country is weakend, it will be just a matter of time before either Al-Qaeda or foreign-sponsored syrian rebels start a second civil war.