Louai Sakra
Suspected Al-Qaeda Terrorist
Arrested For Planned Cruise Ship Attacts
Louai Sakra
Date: August 10, 2005
Arrested For Terror Plots
Location: Turkey
Age: 32
Details:
According to Turkish intelligence, his real name is Luayibi Mohammed Hac Bakr al-Saka, born in Syria
He operates under the aliases Lian bin Mohammed Saka, Abu Mohammed al-Suri, Abu Haya al-Suri, and Ala al-Din. He is known within al-Qaeda as Aladdin al-Suri.
He is fluent in Turkish with an Arabic accent
He is a suspected terrorist.
He had undergone plastic surgery several times to conceal his identity after he was identified as an al-Qaeda financier in the investigation into the November 2003 bombings.
He was listed as an al-Qaeda financier in Turkish court documents following the November 2003 bombings in Istanbul.
He is in custody in Turkey.
He was captured by Turkish police as part of an al-Qaeda plot to attack cruise ships carrying Israeli tourists using Zodiac speedboats packed with explosives.
Israel diverted 5 cruise ships carrying more than 5,000 tourists in response to the threat
He has admitted he has ties to Al-Qaeda
He claims he was paid by the Taliban to commit acts of terrorism on Israeli cruise ships that came into Turkish waters.
In April 2004 Captain John Hewlett, a guest speaker at an International Maritime Security and Port Facility Code (ISPS) Awareness and Implementation Seminar, in the twin-island Federation of Antigua & Barbuda, stated that US intelligence suggests that the next major terrorist attack could be on cruise ships.
