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Istanbul: A man suspected of driving the getaway car in the US consulate attack says he was simply hired as a driver and had no idea that his passengers planned a terrorist attack, a Turkish newspaper reported yesterday.
Police detained the man late on Thursday suspecting he was the fourth gunman involved in Wednesday's shootout outside the consulate in Istanbul, a surprise raid that left three policemen and three attackers dead.
US President George W. Bush called Turkey's president yesterday to offer his condolences.
In all, police have detained 10 people for questioning, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said yesterday. Four of them were picked up soon after the shootout, including one who reportedly had frequent telephone calls with the assailants, media reports said.
US and Turkish officials have labelled the operation a terrorist attack and Turkey immediately increased security at all US diplomatic missions. Police suspect the attackers had ties to Al Qaida but say so far they have no actual proof of that link.
The Milliyet newspaper reported that the alleged getaway driver told interrogators he drove the attackers to the consulate for a fee but had no knowledge of their plans.
Another Turkish paper, Hurriyet, reported that the man told anti-terrorism police he fled the scene because he was afraid for his life. After Turkey launched a massive manhunt to find him, family members persuaded him to give himself up, Milliyet reported.
Neither paper cited its sources but police in Turkey routinely leak information through the media. Guler confirmed that the car's driver was in police custody and said more arrests could come following the man's questioning.
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