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Friday, November 21 2003 @ 05:26 AM Central Standard Time
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 ANKARA - The following is a glance at militant Islamic groups active in Turkey:
IBDA-C - ISLAMIC GREAT EASTERN RAIDERS-FRONT. The group, which advocates Islamic rule in this predominantly Muslim and officially secular country, is allegedly backed by Iran. It has claimed responsibility for Saturday's pickup truck bombings outside two synagogues in Istanbul that killed 24 people, but Turkish authorities disputed the claim.
Active since the mid-1970's, it has become increasingly violent in the last decade and has an estimated 600 followers.
The group has staged attacks on left-wing and Christian targets as well as secular-oriented intellectuals, claiming responsibility for the assassination in 1999 of prominent pro-secular columnist, Ahmet Taner Kislali.
Its leader, Salih Izzet Erdis, also known as Salih Mirzabeyoglu, who was captured in 1998.
HIZBOLLAH - The Sunni group is not linked to Lebanon-based Shiite Hezbollah and it is also allegedly backed by Iran. It aims to create an Islamic state in Turkey's mainly Kurdish regions. The group which has a few thousand followers, is believed to be behind hundreds of killings of opponents in the region.
The leader of the group's most militant wing was killed in a shootout in Istanbul in 2000.
Turkey allegedly supported Hezbollah when it was formed in the early 1980s, because it fought autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels.
ISLAMIC ACTION - Known for its strong affiliation with Iran, it aims to establish an Islamic state. Its members reportedly received military training in Iran. Authorities believe that the group was behind the killings of a few pro-secular Turkish intellectuals in the early 1990s. A senior member, Irfan Cagirici, was captured in 1996.
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