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Netanyahu prime suspect in aid attack

05 June 2010 20:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A probe launched in Turkey considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a main suspect behind a fatal Israeli attack on an international aid convoy, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

The Prosecutor’s Office in Bakirkoy, Istanbul has initiated the investigation into the Monday assault in international waters on the Turkish-backed Freedom Flotilla relief mission, said the Turkey-based English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman on Saturday.

The commando attack on the fleet, which had set sail to break Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip, claimed at least nine people, including eight Turks and an American of Turkish descent.

Netanyahu has called the assault as an act of "self defense."

Also among the potential perpetrators are Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.

Should the office collect enough evidence, it will bring charges against the Israeli officials, ranging from murder to piracy.

Among the evidence are autopsy reports. British daily The Guardian has reported that the nine victims were fired at a total of 30 times while five of them were killed by headshots.

Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), which has examined the survivors, is also checking whether the Israeli forces used any chemical weapons against the activists.