Turkey ‘new battleground in war on terror’
The US joined Britain in warning its citizens to defer non-essential travel to Turkey over fears of further terror attacks in the country of 70 million following four suicide bombings in the commercial capital in six days.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also advised Irish citizens against all non-essential travel to Istanbul.
It said those who had to travel to Turkey, and in particular to its large urban areas, should exercise extreme caution and vigilance.
“If people have concerns, they can contact the Irish embassy in Ankara or talk to us here in Dublin,” said a Department spokeswoman.
The number of Irish tourists there is likely to be small, according to Budget Travel, because Irish tour operators do not provide holiday packages to Turkey in the winter.
A statement purporting to come from a unit of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network said it carried out Thursday’s twin strikes on the British consulate and the London-based HSBC bank which killed 27 people and wounded more than 400.
Five days earlier 25 people were killed in similar suicide attacks on Istanbul synagogues, making this the worst week of peacetime violence in Turkey’s modern history.
“Terrorists have decided to use Turkey as a front,” said Mr Bush who was back in the US last night after his state visit to Britain.
“Two major explosions. Iraq is a front. Turkey is a front. Anywhere the terrorists think they can strike is a front.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said some people had been arrested in relation to Thursday’s attacks, without giving details.
The Turkish daily Hurriyet said seven people had been arrested in the strikes, however, a spokesman at the Istanbul governor’s incident room could not confirm the report.
Many Turks were among the 27 dead, who also included British Consul General Roger Short.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
