Many Die in Istanbul Blasts. Over 450 Injured. by BBC World News 12:19am 21st Nov, 2003   20 November, 2003    Bomb attacks on the British consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters in Istanbul have left at least 25 dead and more than 450 injured.    The explosions come just days after 23 people died in suicide bombings on two synagogues in the city.    UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned what he described as an "appalling act of terrorism" saying it had all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda and associated organisations.    Turkish government spokesman Cemil Cicek said the attacks were carried out by suicide car bombers.    The 15-storey headquarters of the London-based bank towers over a busy shopping area, which correspondents say would have been crowded when the explosion occurred at 1110 Turkish time.The consulate bomb occurred two minutes later.    A White House spokesman said Washington was monitoring the situation. A man who called the semi-official Anatolia news agency claimed that Al-Qaeda and the Turkish Islamic militant group IBDA-C had jointly carried out the attacks. Turkish Foreign Minister Abullah Gul said Turkey would not bow to terror. "We are faced with organised terrorist attacks," he said. "This time it was British interests, last week it was two synagogues."    The BBC's Steve Bryant, in Istanbul, says the city is in chaos. There is collapsed masonry, shattered windows, burned out cars and general scenes of confusion at the two sites. Much of the city's phone network has been cut.    Hospitals are inundated with hundreds of wounded people, traffic is blocking the roads and crisis officials are asking people to leave the centre to clear the way for ambulances.    "The damage is very extensive. I've been told that there are people lying around... Civilians are carrying people away from the scene," said an English teacher at a school next to the consulate, Chris Kitrinos.    Trading on the Istanbul stock exchange was suspended after the explosions and the Turkish lira dived on foreign exchange markets.    A group claiming to be linked to al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility for the synagogue attacks last Saturday. It warned that new attacks against the US and its allies were being planned.    Annan strongly condemns latest terrorist bombings in Turkey    20 November. United Nations News Service.    United Nations Secretary-General today strongly condemned the latest terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Turkey, on the British consulate and the HSBC headquarters in which at least 26 people were killed.    In a statement issued by a spokesman for the Secretary-General, Mr. Annan sent his "deepest condolence to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and the United Kingdom, and especially to the families of the victims."    Mr. Annan also expressed his deep sympathy to those injured "in these latest acts of callous brutality," the statement added. "He hopes that the perpetrators will be swiftly identified and brought to justice."    Speaking earlier Thursday to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General said: "We all woke up to another shocking news and I condemn totally the latest terrorist attacks in Istanbul…Those who carried out these attacks have no respect for human life and we should condemn utterly their actions."    ABC News Online:November 21, 2003. Arab leaders condemn Turkey blasts.    The 22-member Arab League and Egypt's foreign minister have condemned the two bombings in Istanbul that killed at least 27 people, with the League chief calling the actions "terrorist acts".    Arab League spokesman Hossam Zaki told Reuters, quoting a statement from the Cairo-based body: "The Arab League expressed its condemnation of the bombings that happened in Istanbul today."    Mr Zaki quoted League chief Amr Moussa as saying he "strongly condemned these bombings which target innocent civilians and he expresses his deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims who fell as a result of these terrorist acts".    The twin strikes, just five days after similar deadly attacks on synagogues, targeted the British consulate and the HSBC Bank headquarters in Turkey's commercial centre.    Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher also slammed the attacks in comments carried by the official Middle East News Agency, saying: "Whoever was responsible, this is a wrong act which we must condemn."    The bombings appeared to have been timed to coincide with talks in London between US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his chief ally in the war to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.    At NATO headquarters in Belgium, secretary general George Robertson said the blasts "constitute an attack on the democratic values that NATO stands for".    "Our solidarity is only reinforced by the latest tragic events," he said.    The European Parliament in Strasbourg halted a full session to observe a minute's silence for the dead.    EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said such attacks "underscore the need for continued international cooperation in the multi-faceted fight against terrorism," vowing the 15 nation European Union would "play its part in the fight".    Walter Schwimmer, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, said the "murderous acts are clearly aimed at destabilising not only Turkey but also Europe as a whole" and called on "the international community to pull together and step up its efforts" against terrorism.    Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, vowed: "The strategy of hate and intimidation will not prevail and will not succeed in distracting Turkey from its objective of being part of the European Union."    Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed his condolences to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Blair, while Pope John Paul II said that "terrorism against innocent people is an attack on human dignity".    In the Middle East, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom warned that "terror is a global phenomenon and the community of nations must unite against it while ensuring the values of democracy, freedom and liberties".    Jordan and Syria were among the first Muslim states to condemn the attacks.    Syrian Information Minister Ahmed al-Hassan said "Syria condemns all acts of terrorism targeting innocent people", while Jordan's Foriegn Minister Marwan Moasher pledged to "stand alongside Turkey, her government and people".
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