Hunt under way for Turkey bombers
AFP, Istanbul
Turkish and Israel officials have launched an investigation into who was behind twin bomb attacks on synagogues in Istanbul, which killed at least 23 people and injured 300 others. Turkish police are reported as saying the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers who blew themselves up in cars. The Turkish Government says it believes the bombers had international links. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom arrived in Istanbul to inspect the scenes of the attacks. Israeli security agents and Turkish police picked through debris outside the Neve Shalom and Beth Israel synagogues on Sunday, searching for clues. The bombs, which went off minutes apart on Saturday morning, badly damaged both buildings and scattered wreckage over a wide area. Although an unidentified caller to the Anatolia news agency claimed the attacks were the work of a radical home-grown group called the "Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient", Turkish officials believe the attacks were carried out by a foreign organisation, possibly al-Qaeda. "It is obvious that this is a terrorist incident with international connections," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said. World leaders condemned the bombings at the Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace) and Beth Israel synagogues, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the establishment of a united front against international terrorism. US President George W. Bush condemned the bombings "in the strongest possible terms" and telephoned Erdogan to offer his condolences, declaring that the United States "stands resolutely with Turkey" in the face of such attacks. UN chief Kofi Annan said he was "appalled" by the attacks. Greece, which fears terrorists could target the Athens Olympics next year, condemned "the barbaric and atrocious" attacks, and Turkey's Kurdish rebels, who are often highly critical of the Ankara government, said: "This is a terrorist act and we do not accept it." The almost simultaneous bombings were the latest in a series of strikes against Jewish targets in recent months, including suicide attacks in the Moroccan city of Casablanca in May that killed 45 and an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya a year ago that left 18 dead. Six Jews were among the 20 victims of the attacks, Israeli public radio reported, quoting a member of the Turkish Jewish community. "We have identified six Jews among the people killed in these attacks, including four security guards employed by the community... Most of those killed were neighbouring shop workers," the unidentified Istanbul source said.
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