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Istanbul rocked by double bombing Hospitals have been treating hundreds of injured people Bomb attacks on the British consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters in Istanbul have left at least 27 dead and up to 400 injured. The top UK diplomat in the city, Consul-General Roger Short, was among at least 14 people killed in the attack on the consulate, its chaplain Ian Sherwood said. The Turkish authorities say the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers, reportedly linked to al-Qaeda. The explosions follow last Saturday's suicide bomb attacks against two synagogues in Istanbul that killed 25 people. Responding to news of the blasts, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said there could be "no holding back" in confronting the "menace" of global terrorism. It's total chaos... civilians are carrying people away from the scene Chris Kitrinos, bystander near British consulate 'Blood and tears everywhere' In pictures: Istanbul blasts US President George Bush said the bombers had shown "utter contempt" for human life. Istanbul is a city in chaos, the BBC's Steve Bryant says. 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. HSBC said that "a number" of its staff had been killed. 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 Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed to track down those responsible for the bombings. Who are IBDA-C? Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front Armed, underground Islamist network Claim latest bomb attacks Linked to bomb attacks on two synagogues Leader is in prison facing death penalty "Turkey will be like a fist (against the culprits)...The best response for us is to stay calm in the face of terrorism," he told a news conference. 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 (0910GMT). The consulate bomb occurred two minutes later. The main building had been undergoing refurbishment and many staff were working in outbuildings in the complex. 'Organised terror' Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Turkey would not bow to terror. Click below for a more detailed map of the blast sites Enlarge Map "We are faced with organised terrorist attacks," he said. "This time it was British interests, last week it was two synagogues." Murat Emre Duman was working in a building near the HSBC bank. He said he saw "yellow smoke" coming out of the tower, and "shattered glass from cars and windows everywhere". The explosion killed the 28-year-old wife of a friend, he told BBC News Online. "I saw her body. My friend doesn't even recognise me. He's in a state of shock." Trading on the Istanbul stock exchange was suspended after the explosions and the Turkish lira dived on foreign exchange markets. HSBC bank Headquarters in London World's second biggest bank by stock market value Presence in 79 countries Founded in 1865 by UK nationals in Hong Kong Originally called Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation 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. Sixteen members of London's anti-terrorist police branch are to join the investigation into the latest attacks in Istanbul. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is already heading to Istanbul. The United States warned that more terrorist attacks were possible in Istanbul, closed its consulate and warned its citizens to stay away from the area where the bombings took place.

Seriously, this is starting to concern me a lot. In the last few days there were so many attacks on the western world targets, that it seems Al Quaeda is stronger than ever. It seems like matters are going from bad to worse, and Bush, Sharon and Blair don't seem to have the right way of going about these things. Sadly, the situation has now escalated so much that it it's impossible to turn back anymore. The terrorists are more powerful than ever, the US+UK+Israel are more then ever determined to fight them, and the arab world hates that trio now more than ever. Many countries in that area of the world have become unstable, and it's really a question whether new islamic republics will arise. The worst of all is retreating UN from those terror stricken territories. That means less aid for the poor, which leads to more frightened and miserable people. And as Yoda once said, fear leeds to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Unfortunately, the US doesn't seem to be keen on ensuring the functionality of the UN, which already was pretty questionable. Infact it's doing quite the opposite. So now, the rest of the world doesn't want to take part in this struggle. It seems to me that the US has overestimated it's own potential, and the consequences will unfortunately be bleak and gloomy.

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1+1=10

It's a shame you still haven't realized that it's not a simple war between "the trio" and a single terror group. You're just as unwanted as any British consul. Understand that.

Once again people attempt to define these acts through the lens of anti-Israeli, anti-U.S and U.K sentiments. When will the realization of what is truly taking place here come to the forefront. Turkey told the U.S "no thank you" to your troops on our soil and still these sadistical scums that murder in the name of religion are killing Muslims there as well. The sad reality is that the Arab World is now feeling what the citizens of Kenya, Tanzania, the United States, Indonesia, Russia (whatever you may think of the Chechnya situation) oh and did I mention Israel, have felt already. It seemed to me that many Arabs felt that it was okay as long as Westerners were killed, the situation however is no longer that cut and dry. Welcome to the world of the Islamic terrorists.

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Trance = Heart, Mind, Body and Soul all in 1

Current fav. Global Experience = Madras

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Originally posted by TranceGiant It's a shame you still haven't realized that it's not a simple war between "the trio" and a single terror group. You're just as unwanted as any British consul. Understand that.

I do understand that. You know, Croatia was a target of islamic terrorists somewhere around 1996/7 when we gave over the member of Gamma al Islamiya who was captured in Bosnia to the CIA operatives. Still, the trio is still a primary target.

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1+1=10

Also understand that since 9/11 it has probably become MUCH much more difficult to carry out attacks against western nations than it ever has before. There hasen't been an absense of a terrorist presence in western nations ... sleeper cells have been broken up and arrested in the US, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, etc. And it's probably through this combination of an attack against their presence in western nations and the seizing of financial accounts/charities in western nations that there have been relatively few attacks since 9/11. So if it's harder to strike abroad, what is the next logical place to carry out your "message"? Well at home of course ... against countries who are unsuspecting of a perceived threat from your terrorist group because you should be occupied with trying to strike at western nations. Is it coincidence that all the recent attacks have been against muslim nations? Bali, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan to a minor extent, Turkey, Africa, etc.? They don't care if these are predominantly Muslim people they are terrorizing ... they want an Islamic fundementalist government and they want POWER regardless of cost. These countries are all paying the price for not heeding the warnings of a growing terrorist base in their countries much as the US did. Only now are the Indonesians, Saudis, and the Turks taking sweeping measures to root out the terrorist presence in their states ... unfortunately a day late and a dollar short.

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Retro ...

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Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0 the US+UK+Israel are more then ever determined to fight them

what other option is there left? it's either confront the problem or ignore it and pretend it will go away. so far there's no one other then the trio that has really done anything to aggressively seek an end to terrorism.

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If God is the answer, it must have been a very stupid question.

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Originally posted by occrider Is it coincidence that all the recent attacks have been against muslim nations? Bali, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan to a minor extent, Turkey, Africa, etc.? They don't care if these are predominantly Muslim people they are terrorizing ... they want an Islamic fundementalist government and they want POWER regardless of cost. These countries are all paying the price for not heeding the warnings of a growing terrorist base in their countries much as the US did. Only now are the Indonesians, Saudis, and the Turks taking sweeping measures to root out the terrorist presence in their states ... unfortunately a day late and a dollar short.

Absolutely correct, frankly if I were the French or the Germans, with a large Muslim minority I would be on alert, especially in the case of France. In Germany it is mostly Turks, who are more tolerant in their beliefs and opinions, it would concern me however that these attacks that have recently occured there (excluding the three today) involved two Turkish citizens who were the bombers themselves. Turkey has always been more open and lenient vis a vis the rest of the Arab world, hope this doesn't degrade further.

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Trance = Heart, Mind, Body and Soul all in 1

Current fav. Global Experience = Madras

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Originally posted by NYCTrancefan Turkey has always been more open and lenient vis a vis the rest of the Arab world, hope this doesn't degrade further.

hopefully the opposite will happen, just as was the case in morocco. when a terrorist bombing happened near a synagouge there not to long ago (it was this year, right?), thousands of people came to the streets in solidarity with the victims and to support the government to do all they can to erradicate any terror orginizers in their country. hopefully the same will happen in turkey and the citizens will demand strict measures to ensure terrorist dont get a foothold in their country

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If God is the answer, it must have been a very stupid question.

quote:

Originally posted by occrider Also understand that since 9/11 it has probably become MUCH much more difficult to carry out attacks against western nations than it ever has before. There hasen't been an absense of a terrorist presence in western nations ... sleeper cells have been broken up and arrested in the US, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, etc. And it's probably through this combination of an attack against their presence in western nations and the seizing of financial accounts/charities in western nations that there have been relatively few attacks since 9/11. So if it's harder to strike abroad, what is the next logical place to carry out your "message"? Well at home of course ... against countries who are unsuspecting of a perceived threat from your terrorist group because you should be occupied with trying to strike at western nations. Is it coincidence that all the recent attacks have been against muslim nations? Bali, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan to a minor extent, Turkey, Africa, etc.? They don't care if these are predominantly Muslim people they are terrorizing ... they want an Islamic fundementalist government and they want POWER regardless of cost. These countries are all paying the price for not heeding the warnings of a growing terrorist base in their countries much as the US did. Only now are the Indonesians, Saudis, and the Turks taking sweeping measures to root out the terrorist presence in their states ... unfortunately a day late and a dollar short.

Well said, Dick. Evidently it seems the Admin. has done something right about our security, at least to a certain extent. Could be much better, IMO, and the funding for Homeland Security could be a little bit higher, but we're on the right track.

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Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

quote:

Originally posted by occrider These countries are all paying the price for not heeding the warnings of a growing terrorist base in their countries much as the US did. Only now are the Indonesians, Saudis, and the Turks taking sweeping measures to root out the terrorist presence in their states ... unfortunately a day late and a dollar short.

PLz, Turkey has been dealing with terrorism for the last 20 years
just cause terrorism is the latest media buzz word in western media atm doesnt mean its new......

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Originally posted by ProDiGaL PLz, Turkey has been dealing with terrorism for the last 20 years just cause terrorism is the latest media buzz word in western media atm doesnt mean its new......

Kurdish terrorism. Not the more mainstream Al-Qaeda terrorism. You simply cannot set up an anti-terrorism network and apply it all across the board like a big fishing net in the sea. They've been very adept at infiltrating the Kurdish terrorist groups and keeping a watchful eye on them, however, they have not been applying pressure to others ... there was never really a need to in the past.

Not saying that this is all new to turkey ... just saying that they were probably blind sided with these latest attacks.

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Retro ...

Last edited by occrider on Nov-21-2003 at 00:31

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Originally posted by Izzy hopefully the opposite will happen, just as was the case in morocco. when a terrorist bombing happened near a synagouge there not to long ago (it was this year, right?), thousands of people came to the streets in solidarity with the victims and to support the government to do all they can to erradicate any terror orginizers in their country. hopefully the same will happen in turkey and the citizens will demand strict measures to ensure terrorist dont get a foothold in their country

Actually I read in an article where the author was trying to make the point that Arab leaders are much more friendly than their subjects that these rallies were basically government sponsored. They proded people into the streets for this occasion to show their solidarity.

quote:

Originally posted by occrider Not saying that this is all new to turkey ... just saying that they were probably blind sided with these latest attacks.

Actually Israeli officals have admitted they warned Turkish officails of many possible terrorist plots in their country. They weren't "blind sided" as there was warning to these attacks. Unfortunately the information was to late and to vague to be of much practical utility. Of course I do agree with you in the the Turkish forces probably were not aware or willing to commit their own resources to provide such warning, deterance, and prevention.

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