Bomb explodes outside bank in Istanbul

A small bomb exploded outside a branch of HSBC bank in Istanbul today, causing some damage but no injuries, police said.

The blast destroyed the ATM machine of the bank in Istanbul’s busy Beyoglu district, police said.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police said the device used was a percussion bomb, designed to make a loud sound but cause little damage.

The Turkish headquarters of the HSBC bank, two synagogues and the British Consulate were targeted in suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul in 2003 blamed on the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Those attacks killed 61 people.