ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has detained five people for links with al-Qaida after police operations in four cities, including the capital Ankara, Turkish TV reported yesterday. The arrests follow the detention over the weekend of 19 people for suspected links to the Islamist militant group, which had claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks against the British Consulate, two synagogues and an HSBC bank in Istanbul killing more than 60 people in November 2003. The court ordered five of the suspects to be held for possible trial. Turkish media said one of the suspects was a Turk who taught English in the country’s central city of Aksaray. Authorities have stepped up security in main cities ahead of the New Year holiday.

ANKARA (AFP) – A land mine explosion hit a convoy of Turkish trucks in northern Iraq on Saturday, killing one driver and leaving five others injured, Turkey’s NTV news channel reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman confirmed the convoy, transporting construction material from Turkey to neighboring Iraq, ran into a land mine, but said Turkish authorities were still trying to clarify the casualties. The incident occurred early on Saturday on a road linking the northern Iraqi cities of Dohuk and Mosul, NTV said, citing local sources. More than 100 Turks, mostly truck drivers shipping goods, have been killed in mine attacks or by hostage-takers in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003. Such deadly incidents have become less frequent in the past two years.

Bulgarian police arrested four people and seized 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of heroin found hidden in a car at a border crossing, authorities said yesterday. The drugs, stashed in 116 packages, were found early yesterday in a secret compartment in the floor of a Bulgarian car crossing the border from Turkey, customs said in a statement. Police arrested the 41-year-old Bulgarian driver and three passengers, who included a customs official that police believe organized the smuggling operation. A Serb national, allegedly the head of the group, was also arrested in the southern city of Stara Zagora, police said yesterday. (AP)

The Serbian version of the “Big Brother” reality show was suddenly brought to an end after three of the former housemates died in a car crash, the producer and broadcaster said yesterday. The three were killed in a car accident early Saturday near Belgrade. It is reportedly the first time ever that the “Big Brother” reality show, famous worldwide, has been canceled. (AFP)