ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish police detained a Syrian who is believed to have been a go-between for al-Qaida and a Turkish cell that carried out deadly 2003 bombings in Istanbul and said Wednesday they are pursuing other militants.

Turkish media said the Syrian was one of 10 people detained who were plotting to attack Israeli cruise ships docking at vacation resorts on the Mediterranean coast, but police later denied the reports.

Israel on Monday urged its citizens not to visit beach resorts on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and five cruise liners carrying some 5,000 people were diverted from Turkey to Cyprus over the weekend due to terror threats.

Israeli officials said Turkish police were aggressively cracking down, but added the terror warning was still in force.

Emmanuel Nahshon, the Israeli deputy ambassador in Ankara, stressed the warning did not apply to the entire country. "It is not Turkey, it is just a particular area," Nahshon said.

Overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey is a top vacation spot for Israelis and more than 300,000 visit each year.

Police confirmed that the Syrian citizen who was detained was suspected of having facilitated communication between al-Qaida and Turkish extremists responsible for the 2003 bombings of two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank. The attacks killed some 60 people.

The suspect also is believed to have helped the bombing masterminds flee the country and to have remained in contact with al-Qaida operatives who are planning future attacks, Turkish police officials added.

The officials, however, could not confirm that those attacks included plots to attack Israeli tourists. Turkish civil servants are only allowed to speak on the record with prior authorization.

Police said the Syrian was detained in Antalya, a beach resort that is so popular with Israelis that there are direct flights from Tel Aviv.

yahoonews.com