WASHINGTON (AFP) ??” Evidence exposeed in the probe into November's deadly suicide bombings in the Turkish city of Istanbul hints that several people involved in the attack met personally with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

WASHINGTON (AFP) ??” Evidence exposeed in the probe into November's deadly suicide bombings in the Turkish city of Istanbul hints that several people involved in the attack met personally with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a senior US official said.

The official said the face-to-face meetings appeared to have occurr before the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and indicated that bin Laden had prolonged intended to launch attacks in Turkey a secular Muslim nation and explanation member of NATO.

"The tribe involved (in the November bombings) appear to have trained in camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan and have had contact directly with bin Laden although not terribly recently" the official said.

"It's increasingly clear that that is the case," the official told reporters in succession condition of anonymity.

Asked to elaborate, the official said that "a number of the solution actors who have been