Plane crash victims were tracked by Turkish agents

Ankara, May 17: 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 earlier this week. Their bodies were found yesterday.

The state 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 on its Web sites 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 Pervez Musharraf. It also quoted a hotel owner in Trabzon as saying MIT had sought information about his two foreign guests.

Officials were not immediately available to comment on the reports on Anatolian or on the Milliyet Web site.

A full investigation is under way into the cause of the crash, which occurred during difficult weather conditions.

Iran has long been at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear programme. The United States and its allies accuse Tehran of planning to build nuclear bombs. Iran says its programme is purely peaceful and aims to produce atomic energy.

Pakistan is a nuclear power.

NATO member Turkey has important security ties with the United States, though it has also managed to maintain cordial relations with its eastern neighbour Iran.

Reuters>