Turkish police train 13 northern alliance guards

By The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish police are training 13 guards of Afghanistan's northern alliance in Istanbul to help build a stronger police force in Afghanistan.

The guards arrived last week for three weeks of training at the Istanbul Police Department, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry oversees police and security.

The ministry said the northern alliance leadership requested that Turkey train the 13 guards. He said it was not clear if more guards would arrive for training.

Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, has strongly supported the U.S.-led campaign against Afghanistan's Islamic Taliban rulers and Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

It was the first Muslim country to offer troops for combat in the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan. a Turkish force of up to 3,000 soldiers is on standby for a possible peacekeeping mission.

Turkey has a long history of training Afghan officials both in Afghanistan and in Turkey since the 1920s. Thousands of Afghan students also have attended Turkish schools.

The country enjoys close links to groups opposed to the ruling Taliban regime and especially to Uzbek Gen. Rashid Dostum of the northern alliance.

APNP-11-28-01 0725CST