ISTANBUL, Nov 21: Turkey announced on Friday it had made several arrests over the deadly bombings of British targets in Istanbul described as Turkey’s own “September 11”, as Britain and the United States warned of more attacks.
The attacks which killed 27 people, including Britain’s top diplomat in the city, cast a pall over the nation as it prepared to celebrate the feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramazan.
Police suspect the near-simultaneous attacks were the work of two Turkish fundamentalists also involved in Saturday’s synagogue bombings, the mass circulation Hurriyet newspaper reported, adding that seven people had been detained.
“Some people have been arrested, but it is too early to give information about them,” Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said.
“Turkey will definitely not bow down to terrorism and will continue to fight terrorism,” he told a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who flew in to Istanbul to visit the bomb blast scenes.
An anonymous telephone caller claimed the attacks were a joint action by the Al Qaeda terror group and the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient (IBDA-C) — a radical Sunni group whose aim is to set up an Islamic state and “stop the oppression of Muslims.”
The two had also claimed responsibility for Saturday’s suicide bombings which killed 27 people and injured more than 300 at two synagogues in the bustling metropolis that straddles East and West.
Turkish investigators were working around the clock searching through the rubble at the British consulate and the headquarters of Britain’s biggest bank HSBC, with Britain dispatching its own anti-terror experts to help.
Mr Straw condemned the bombings as an indiscriminate “attack on civilisation” by “ruthless fanatics” and vowed to stand by Turkey in the fight against the scourge of terrorism.
However, both Britain and the United States cautioned their citizens against travelling to Istanbul and other cities, warning of more attacks.
“We have information to suggest that further attacks may be attempted,” Britain’s Foreign Office said.
Turkey has introduced tough security measures around key sites including the prime minister’s office, while some embassies, shopping malls and schools have been closed.
HSBC announced it had reopened its branches in Turkey following a one-day shutdown and insisted it had no intention of withdrawing from the country.
The Istanbul Stock Exchange, where the main index dropped more than seven per cent on Thursday, announced it would shut its doors until the beginning of December, while at least two international club football ties due to be played in Turkey were postponed.
Anatolia quoted Turkish police as saying they believed the bombs used in Thursday’s attacks were of the same type as those used in the synagogue blasts, which officials say were carried out by two Turkish attackers from the impoverished eastern town of Bingol.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is hosting a meeting of the National Security Council, acknowledged that security lapses could have played a role in the blasts.—AFP