27 die as suicide attacks hit UK mission, bank: Istanbul sees another assault
ISTANBUL, Nov 20: Suicide car bombers blew up the British consulate and the British-owned HSBC bank in Turkey’s largest city on Thursday, killing at least 27 people, including the consul general, and casting a shadow over the state visit to Britain by US President George Bush.
Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu told reporters that 450 people were injured in the almost simultaneous attacks, carried out by “two pick-up trucks loaded with explosives”.
“Those who carried out the attacks were torn apart themselves,” Mr Aksu said.
Turkey’s Anatolia news agency quoted an anonymous telephone caller as saying the attacks were a joint action by the Al Qaeda and the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient (IBDA-C).
The two groups had earlier claimed responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 25 people and injured more than 300 at two synagogues in Istanbul on Saturday.
In London, a grim-faced President Bush told a news conference he was determined to crush terrorists who “hate freedom”.
“The terrorists hope to intimidate. They hope to demoralize. They particularly want to intimidate free nations,” he said with British Prime Minister Tony Blair standing at his side.
“They are not going to succeed. We are united in our determination to fight this evil wherever it is found,” Mr Bush added.
Blair, in words echoed by politicians throughout Europe, said: “There must be no holding back, no compromise, no hesitation in confronting this menace, in attacking it wherever and whenever we can and in defeating it completely.”
Ian Sherwood, the chaplain at the British consul in the historic district of Beyoglu, said consul general Roger Short was killed in the explosion, which completely destroyed an annex where he had temporarily set up his office while the main building was renovated.
The Foreign Office warned British citizens against “all but the most essential” travel to Istanbul and the HSBC announced that it had closed all its branches in Turkey for security reasons.
Anatolia quoted Turkish police as saying they believed the bombs used in Thursday’s attacks were of the same type as those used at the synagogues.
An anonymous caller to the Anatolia news agency said the attacks were carried out by Al Qaeda and the Turkish extremist group, and warned: “Our attacks against masonic targets will continue. Muslims are not alone.”
It said a red vehicle parked outside the bank exploded first, while the consulate was hit by a moving green car five minutes later.
As black smoke billowed over the wrecked consulate, an eyewitness said a car had driven at speed into the main gate immediately before the blast.
At least two policemen on guard duty were killed, along with a man operating a stall in the street, according to the witness, who gave his name as Hassan, aged 36.
Two annexs to the consulate were reduced to rubble and several cars destroyed by the explosion.
Debris and broken glass littered the surrounding streets, where distraught people wandered, holding their heads in their hands, crying, trying to call relatives from mobile phones, swamping the city’s telephone network. Ambulance sirens wailed and sniffer dogs were brought in to search for survivors among the rubble.
Some residents said they thought the city had been hit by an earthquake, a relatively common occurrence in the region.
“I thought at first that there had been a quake. A loud noise came from under our building” said Murat Akinci, 36, who works in an advertising agency some four kilometres from the HSBC building.
“Some of the agency staff wanted to go downstairs for protection, but we dissuaded them from doing so, and then we understood that it wasn’t an earthquake but some kind of explosion,” he said.
Cem Ekingen, who worked in the same building, said the entire 20-floor structure had been “violently shaken” by the blast.
Local television reported that part of the facade of the posh multi-storey HSBC building was blown out and that the building was littered, inside and out, with body parts.
“There are mutilated bodies, legs and arms, both inside and outside the building ... Fingers were found 25 metres away from the building,” one rescuer said.
About 600 people were working in the building when the blast hit.
Reporters near the HSBC headquarters said people were seen to be taking down the signposts of foreign companies and those of shops with foreign names in the vicinity of the bank.
The nearby giant Akmerkez shopping mall was emptied and panicked parents took their children away from neighbouring schools, CNN-Turk reported.
US WARNING: The United States warned on Thursday that more terrorist attacks were possible in Istanbul and closed its consulate following the twin bomb attacks. The US embassy in Ankara advised all Americans to stay away from the Taksim and Levent areas of Istanbul, where the blasts took place.
“More attacks are possible, as well as the possibility of fires, gas line explosions and collapsing buildings near the bomb sites,” said the advisory made available through the State Department.
“The US consulate in Istanbul has suspended normal visa services but is fully staffed for emergency assistance.
“Although there is no evidence of immediate threat to the US Consulate General building in Istinye, barring a personal emergency, Americans are advised to defer visits to the consulate.”
The US consulate had been located near the areas where Thursday’s bombings took place, but was moved to Istanbul’s Istinye neighbourhood earlier this year, a senior State Department official said in London.
Americans were also advised to steer clear of Western-oriented businesses, religious institutions, shopping centres, restaurants and bars until further notice.
The warning told Americans to continue to exercise extreme caution and maintain a low profile throughout Turkey.
“Remain vigilantly aware of surroundings, listen to news reports, avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile and vary times and routes for all travel.
The State Department on Sunday had told US citizens in Turkey to redouble security precautions and stay away from areas in Istanbul following the weekend’s double suicide bombings targeting synagogues there.
CITIBANK CLOSES BRANCHES: The Citibank has closed its branches in Turkey after the Istanbul bombings, the corporation said on Thursday.
“At this stage, we understand Citibank has not been impacted by the unfortunate events that occurred (Thursday) in Istanbul,” Citibank’s corporate parent, Citigroup, said in a statement.
“As a precautionary measure only — and in the interest and safety of our staff and customers — we have closed our retail branches for the remainder of the day.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we expect our branches to be open (Friday) morning as usual.”
STOCKS SINK: The attacks shocked world markets, raising fears of more sustained and frequent attacks. European stocks sank and gold, seen as a relatively risk-free investment in times of uncertainty, firmed. The Istanbul stock exchange was closed after the explosions, but not before the stock index had dived 7.37 per cent amid panic sales. Banks ceased quotes on the Turkish interbank foreign exchange market.
The attacks could deal a tremendous blow to a Turkish economy struggling with recession and facing huge debt repayments over the next year. A tenuous return of foreign investment could be put at risk.—AFP/Reuters
ISTANBUL, Nov 20: Suicide car bombers blew up the British consulate and the British-owned HSBC bank in Turkey’s largest city on Thursday, killing at least 27 people, including the consul general, and casting a shadow over the state visit to Britain by US President George Bush.
