Carnage in Istanbul as terror strikes city still in mourning
At least 27 people were killed , adding to the grief of a city still in mourning for the 25 dead from apparently identical suicide attacks on two synagogues in the city last Saturday. The bombings of the British consulate and HSBC Bank headquarters in Istanbul 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 in Iraq.
The remains of a human torso lay in the road some 250 metres from HSBC headquarters, the centre of one blast in Istanbul's financial hub. The blast blew out windows for blocks around in the plush offices and up-market villas.
Another bomb blew a large crater in the road, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air above the British consulate, demolishing the perimeter wall and entrance to the 19th century Georgian building in the city's retail and night-life centre. The consulate's chaplain said Consul-General Roger Short, a career diplomat, was among 15 killed at the mission, where a van pulled up on a busy street and exploded.
As with the synagogue bombs, officials believe the latest attacks bore the hallmarks of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network carefully coordinated and targeted suicide attacks.
But while Saturday's targets were Jews and yesterday's bombs were apparently aimed at British interests, the vast majority of victims were again Turkish Muslims.
"I heard a large bang. I thought it was an earthquake," said Adnan Akyildiz at the consulate. "I threw myself out of the window ... the scene was horrendous, the gate, the consulate, the buildings, were all demolished. A car was on fire.
"Then I looked for my friends, I saw four of the other cleaners dead, two of them were husband and wife."
Witnesses reported a green van with the markings of a food company driving into the gate as it exploded, the same devastating technique used five days before.
A police guard, just like two colleagues on duty in front of the synagogues, was killed instantly.
Turkish police said the bombs used were the same as in the synagogue attacks. A mixture of common chemicals and fuel that left a foul stench hanging in the air.
"I was blown off my seat and the debris in the office fell on me. There was smoke and dust everywhere. It stuck in my throat and I thought it may be poison," said Abidin who was working in his office near the consulate. Those who rushed to the scene stood aghast or began to weep as the survivors, blackened and bloodied were taken away. Mothers rushed to take their children home from nearby schools as rescue workers scrabbled through the rubble in search of more victims.
"Why is Istanbul under attack? We woke up this morning and are now face-to-face with terror," said Cicek, an HSBC employee, her face smeared with dried blood from a gash on her forehead.
"The world is suddenly a dangerous, horrifying place."
In London yesterday, around 100,000 protesters marched through the British capital and tore down a mock statue of Mr Bush, many of them convinced his policies were to blame for the anti-British bombing in Turkey.
Demonstrators of all ages beat drums and blew whistles along a three-mile route that took them past parliament and the end of Downing Street, where crowds paused to jeer towards Mr Blair's office.
When they reached Trafalgar Square, protesters felled a six-metre papier maché statue of Mr Bush in a parody of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein when US and British troops swept into Baghdad. In its top pocket was a puppet with a grinning Blair face.
"Bush and Blair said they were fighting a war against terror to make the world a safer place for people," said Paul Burrows, 38, a university lecturer. "They haven't done that. Going out bombing people just gives them more reason to hate the West."
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