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IDF Identifies Mercenary Group Responsible for Flotilla Violence

(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - The IDF has identified one of the passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara as the ringleader of a group of mercenaries who were recruited from Bursa in northwest Turkey. The IDF identified a group of about 50 men - of the 700 on board - who were well-trained and were stationed throughout the ship, where they laid an ambush for the IDF soldiers. The men wore bulletproof vests and gas masks, and had communication devices. Videos taken by the ship's security cameras show the men brandishing metal bars and other weaponry. The members of this violent group were not carrying identity cards or passports. Instead, each had an envelope with about $10,000 in cash. Israeli defense sources suspect the funding for the mercenaries may have come from elements within the Turkish government. On Wednesday, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told a Knesset hearing that all nine men killed on the Marmara were "involved in the fighting." "There were no innocents among the dead," Vilnai said.
2010-06-04 09:50:17
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