Turkey blasts blamed on al-Qaida

Turkish police have arrested number of men who are suspected of involvement in the deadly suicide bombings on the British consulate and a London-based bank that were blamed on al-Qaida.

Reports said the two suicide bombers were Turkish and had previously named as accomplices of last weekend’s Istanbul synagogue bombers.

One al-Qaida linked group, which has claimed responsibility for the bombings, claimed the British consul Roger Short, who was killed, had been the prime target of one attack.

Foreign governments, meanwhile, warned more terrorist attacks could target Turkey.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul confirmed the arrests following the suicide bombings that killed 27 people, but declined to give details.

“Some people have been arrested, but its too early to give information about them,” he said.

The newspaper Hurriyet said police were interrogating seven people in connection with the Istanbul attack, Turkey’s worst-ever terrorist bombing.

The attacks came days after bombings at two Istanbul synagogues that killed 23.

According to the Hurriyet report, police believe they have identified the suicide bombers as two Turkish men previously named as accomplices of the synagogue bombers.

Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler refused to give details of those arrested “for the well-being of the investigations.”

Turkish security forces were on high alert.

Security was tightened at public buildings and foreign institutions, and Istanbul police were stopping and searching pickup trucks like those that shattered the British consulate and the HSBC bank building.

British police anti-terrorist experts headed to Turkey to help the investigation.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to defeat the attackers, who struck during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

“Those who bloodied this holy day and massacred innocent people will account for it in both worlds,” he said Thursday. “They will be damned until eternity.”

At least three groups or individuals alleging links to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attacks.

One called the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades posted a website statement saying it struck “to let Britain and the Brits know that their alliance with America will only bring them economic ruin and death to their sons.”

It claimed to have deliberately targeted British consul Roger Short who was killed in the bombing, along with his personal assistant Lisa Hallworth.

The group called Short the “mastermind of the British policy in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran because of his extensive experience in … combating Islam.”

US officials have cast doubt about previous claims by Abu Hafs al-Masri, saying there is no proof the group exists or has links to Al-Qaida.

On Thursday, an caller to the semi-official Anatolia news agency said al-Qaida and a small militant Turkish group, the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders’ Front, or IBDA-C, jointly claimed responsibility for both sets of attacks.

The same groups earlier claimed responsibility for Saturday’s synagogue bombings.

Another claim came from an alleged al-Qaida operative Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj in a statement sent to the London-based Al-Majalla weekly.

He warned of a “big operation” somewhere between the Muslim holidays of Eid el Fitr next week and the Feast of the Sacrifice in January. His e-mail also warned Japan against helping the United States in Iraq, warning Tokyo ”is the easiest place to destroy.”

In Washington, US Attorney General John Ashcroft said the attacks bore the marks of an al-Qaida operation. Saturday’s synagogue attacks were also blamed on al-Qaida.

The back-to-back attacks raised fears al-Qaida was targeting Turkey, a close ally of the West that has strong ties with Israel and is a rare example of a secular, Muslim democracy.

Istanbul may have been hit “because Turkey is a successful democracy” said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who rushed to Istanbul following the bombings.

Mr Straw said the decision to warn citizens against nonessential travel to major Turkish cities was based on intelligence reports of a threat of more attacks.

Other nations, including the United States, Germany and Australia, issued similar warnings – prompting fears that drops in foreign investment and tourism could harm the country’s recovery from its worst recession in decades.

In efforts to talk up the economy, Mr Straw said Britain would intensify its backing for Turkey’s long-standing bid to join the European Union.

Showing defiance, HSBC bank, the world’s second largest, was opened for business today in its 162 branches around Turkey, despite the destruction at its Istanbul headquarters.

The bombings against British targets coincided with U.S. President George Bush’s visit to London.

As with the synagogue bombings, most of the victims were Muslim Turks. At least 450 people were injured, said Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu.

British officials said up to four of the dead were British. One Turkish woman was reported brain dead today, although authorities did not immediately add her to the list of fatalities.

Hurriyet quoted police sources as tentatively identifying the two bombers as Turkish men: Azad Ekinci, 27, and Feridun Ugurlu. The pair had earlier been named in Turkish newspaper reports as having links with last Saturday’s synagogue bombings.

Hurriyet said Ekinci and Ugurlu travelled to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on October 28, a report questioned by UAE authorities.

The paper identified Ekinci as a schoolmate of one of the men suspected in the synagogue attacks. Earlier reports said Ekinci had also travelled to Iran, received military and explosive training in Pakistan between 1997-99 and fought in the Chechnya.

Hurriyet said police in front of the consulate opened fire as the men approached the building, but failed to stop them before they detonated the explosives. Two of the dead where Turkish policemen.