Terrorists kill UK envoy
Nov 21, 2003
ISTANBUL, Thursday - Suicide car bombers blew up the British consulate and the British-owned HSBC bank in Turkey’s largest city on Thursday, killing at least 26 people including the consul general and casting a shadow over a state visit to Britain by US President George W. Bush
ISTANBUL, Thursday - Suicide car bombers blew up the British consulate and the British-owned HSBC bank in Turkey’s largest city on Thursday, killing at least 26 people including the consul general and casting a shadow over a state visit to Britain by US President George W. 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 explosivesâ€. “Those who carried out the attacks were torn apart themselves,†Aksu said.
Turkey’s Anatolia news agency quoted an anonymous telephone caller saying the attacks were a joint action by al-Qaeda and the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient (IBDA-C).
The two groups had earlier claimed responsibility for suicide bombings which killed 25 people and injured more than 300 at two synagogues in Istanbul on Saturday.
In London, a grim-faced Bush told a news conference he was determined to crush terrorists who “hate freedomâ€. “The terrorists hope to intimidate. They hope to demoralise. 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,†Bush added.
The US has blamed al-Qaeda, led by the Saudi-born Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden, for the destruction of the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center in 2001.
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.â€
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 annexe 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 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 the 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.â€
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 eye-witness said a car had driven at high 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.
Two annexes to the consulate were reduced to rubble and several cars destroyed by the explosion.
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 explosivesâ€. “Those who carried out the attacks were torn apart themselves,†Aksu said.
Turkey’s Anatolia news agency quoted an anonymous telephone caller saying the attacks were a joint action by al-Qaeda and the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient (IBDA-C).
The two groups had earlier claimed responsibility for suicide bombings which killed 25 people and injured more than 300 at two synagogues in Istanbul on Saturday.
In London, a grim-faced Bush told a news conference he was determined to crush terrorists who “hate freedomâ€. “The terrorists hope to intimidate. They hope to demoralise. 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,†Bush added.
The US has blamed al-Qaeda, led by the Saudi-born Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden, for the destruction of the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center in 2001.
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.â€
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 annexe 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 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 the 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.â€
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 eye-witness said a car had driven at high 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.
Two annexes to the consulate were reduced to rubble and several cars destroyed by the explosion.