Carnage in Istanbul as terror strikes city still in mourning

SHATTERED bodies and rubble were once more strewn across the streets of Turkey's commercial capital Istanbul yesterday, in a strike against Britain that US and British leaders called a challenge to their war on terror.

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.