KEY POINTS:
ANKARA - A Pakistani and a Briton killed in a plane crash in Turkey this week had been under surveillance by Turkish intelligence, the Turkish Interior Minister said.
The two men, named by Turkish media as Zakaullah Bhangoo and Mihiael Newman, died when their light aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain in Trabzon province in northeast Turkey. Their bodies were found on Wednesday.
The Anatolian news agency quoted Turkey's Interior Minister Osman Gunes as saying the men had been followed by the country's intelligence service, MIT.
Asked about "claims" that the men may have been carrying nuclear materials, the agency quoted Trabzon Governor Nuri Okutan as saying: "All aspects of the case are being investigated."
Anatolian did not say who had made the nuclear claims. The Milliyet newspaper referred to claims that the pair might have been taking nuclear secrets to Iran.
Milliyet said Bhangoo was a retired adjutant of Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf. It also quoted a hotel owner in Trabzon as saying MIT had sought information about his two foreign guests.
Officials were not available to comment on the reports. An investigation is under way into the cause of the crash, which occurred during difficult weather conditions.
- REUTERS
