| Down Under |
| Cremation Contributes to Global Warming: Australian Expert |
| 2007-04-19 |
| An Australian scientist called Wednesday for an end to the age-old tradition of cremation, saying the practice contributed to global warming. Professor Roger Short said people could instead choose to help the environment after death by being buried in a cardboard box under a tree. Where's my bat... The decomposing bodies would provide the tree with nutrients, and the tree would convert carbon dioxide into life-giving oxygen for decades, he said. "The important thing is, what a shame to be cremated when you go up in a big bubble of carbon dioxide," Short told AFP. "Why waste all that carbon dioxide on your death?" I'll forgo the obvious comment, here... Short said the cremation of the average male in Australia, during which the body is heated to 850 degrees Celsius (1,562 degrees Fahrenheit) for 90 minutes, produced more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of carbon dioxide. And that doesn't include the carbon cost of fuel, or the cost of the emissions released during the production and burning of the wooden casket. Short, a reproductive biologist at the University of Melbourne, said the contribution of cremation to harmful greenhouse gases was small, and he did not wish to prevent people from choosing how their body was disposed of according to their religion. But to bury the hatchet with environmentalists, he suggested it would not be a bad idea to bequeath one's body as food for a forest. "You can actually do, after your death, an enormous amount of good for the planet," he said. "The more forests you plant, the better." Unbelievable... |
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| Europe |
| Sakra's life was shaped by demagogues, plastic surgeons |
| 2006-04-20 |
| Of all the fearsome and unfathomable figures who have waged jihad for al-Qaida, Louia Sakka has emerged as one of the most perplexing. He is a man whose thinking was shaped by Islamist preachers and demagogues in Damascus and Kabul, while his face was shaped by a series of plastic surgeons in Turkey, Syria and, possibly, Germany. Sakka stands trial next month, accused of financing four suicide bombings in Istanbul. Sixty-one people died in the November 2003 attacks on the British consulate general, the local headquarters of HSBC bank, and two synagogues. More than 600 were injured; some survivors still receive psychiatric help. He admits attempting to build a massive bomb for a planned attack on an Israeli cruise liner in the Mediterranean. He also says he fought alongside Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at Falluja, proudly acknowledges killing a number of American soldiers, and is alleged to have been involved in the beheading of a Turkish truck driver. While he denies any role in the Istanbul bombings, Sakka makes no attempt to conceal the blood on his hands. Appearing in court in Istanbul last month he refused to stand before the judge. "Why should I?" he shouted. "I have fought the jihad. I have killed Americans!" Now Sakka also claims to have played a role in the death of Kenneth Bigley. The terrorist's lawyer, Osman Karahan, says his client was a member of the gang that held the 62-year-old contractor from Liverpool for three weeks before murdering him in October 2004. "He was one of the men who interrogated Bigley. He says they put Bigley on trial, found him guilty and executed him," Mr Karahan told the Guardian. "My client was the chief of the court. He wants Mr Bigley's family to know that he was not killed for no reason. This was justice. If he had committed a serious offence in the United States, he would have been executed, and it was the same for him in Iraq." What "charge" Mr Bigley faced during the mock trial is not clear. Nor has Sakka revealed the whereabouts of the Briton's remains, although his lawyer says he knows where they lie. Sakka says Zarqawi ordered Mr Bigley's death when he realised the British government would not agree to his demands for the release of all female prisoners being held by US and British forces. Mr Karahan, a fellow Islamist, is happy to confirm many of his client's worst offences. Indeed, being interviewed at his sixth-storey office overlooking the Galatasaray football stadium, he said: "He's a master of disguise. He's another Carlos." Mr Karahan says that his client has a wife and three children and, until the mid-1990s, worked for his father, a successful detergent company owner in Aleppo, northern Syria. It was while working as the company's salesman in Damascus that he appears to have come into contact with those who were to propel him towards Afghanistan. Sakka, 33, who has a Turkish grandfather and speaks Turkish, is thought to have helped train would-be terrorists at a camp for Turkish mujahideen on the Afghan-Pakistan border. He says he met Osama bin Laden, and it appears likely that he would have come into contact with the man who would mastermind the Istanbul attacks, Habib Akdas, a Turkish veteran of the Afghan jihad. At some point in the late 90s Sakka moved to Turkey, where he began acquiring forged and stolen passports to aid the passage of other militants. He claims to have obtained passports for some of the 9/11 attackers. Turkish police believe he entered the country 55 times over 10 years, using 18 different identities. After comparing photographs in some of the passports used by Sakka, and then examining him at Istanbul's Kandira high- security prison, police realised he had undergone extensive plastic surgery. His main role in the Istanbul attacks, according to prosecutors, was to provide $160,000 to allow Akdas and others to rent safe houses and a workshop, buy the material and components needed to build four massive bombs, and then buy the small trucks that would carry them to their targets. Others recruited the bombers. Mesut Cabuk, 29, a Kurd from the eastern city of Bingol who had spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan, targeted the Beth Israel synagogue in the north of the city. His friend Gokhan Elaltunas, 22, the manager of an internet cafe in Bingol, detonated his bomb at Neve Shalom synagogue, three miles away. Five days later Ilyas Kuncak, 47, a grandfather who had two homes and a profitable shop in Ankara, ploughed his bomb-laden truck into the front of the 18-storey HSBC building. It later transpired that he was driven to murder by Turkish press reports about American soldiers raping 4,000 Iraqi women. The reports, entirely erroneous, had been based upon a misreading of a blog posted by a Californian "sex therapist". At the same time Feridun Ugurlu, 27, who had fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya, detonated his bomb near the entrance to the consulate. The building was chosen at the last moment, partly because of relatively lax security, according to prosecutors. Among those who died were Roger Short, the consul, Lisa Hallworth, his secretary, Nanette Kurma, a translator from Ayrshire, and seven Turkish members of staff. Most of the dead and almost all of the injured were Muslims, and some observers believe that the attacks, mounted during Ramadan, would have been seen by al-Qaida's supporters as a disastrous own goal. Mehmet Farac, a Turkish writer and journalist who monitors al-Qaida, said: "All four attacks were big strategic mistakes." When news broke of the first blasts, however, Sakka and Akdas were safe in Aleppo, and according to the testimony of one witness both burst into cheers. By the following March, the two men were fighting alongside Zarqawi in Iraq. Akdas is thought to have died during one of the US assaults on the insurgents' stronghold at Fallujah, where he is said to be buried under a football pitch. At least two other men involved in the Istanbul attacks are being held in Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad according to Turkish authorities. Shortly after Mr Bigley's murder Sakka returned to Turkey. He was armed, according to Mr Karahan, with $500,000 from al-Zarqawi and a plan to kill as many Israelis as possible in an attack so far out at sea that no Muslims would be endangered. He bought an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean at Antalya, rented a 27ft yacht, and acquired a small submersible, a sort of underwater jetski that divers can ride at depths of 75ft. He also bought enough hydrogen peroxide, aluminium powder and acetone to assemble a one-tonne bomb, telling suppliers that he was working for a Damascus timber-bleaching company. He fled Antalya on August 4 after a fire in his apartment triggered a small explosion that sent debris showering into the street. In his haste he abandoned many of his fake passports. A few days later he was arrested at an airport in the south-east of the country by a policeman who had a copy of his most recent photograph. Sakka initially admitted financing the Istanbul attacks, but has since withdrawn his confession. His lawyer says he made that admission after Turkish police threatened to hand him over to US authorities. "He knew that if the Americans got him he could end up in a Jordanian prison where he could be cut into little pieces," Mr Karahan said. CIA officers have interviewed Sakka, but did not question him about Mr Bigley, according to Mr Karahan. "The Americans aren't interested in Bigley, they have 50 Bigleys." However, British authorities investigating the abduction and murder of Mr Bigley are now hoping to interview Sakka in prison. The Foreign Office said: "This case and similar cases are not regarded as closed." Next month Sakka goes on trial alongside 70 other people accused of playing a part in the suicide bombings. If convicted he faces a minimum of 27 years behind bars. |
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| Istanbul bombings financed by al-Qaeda in Iran |
| 2005-05-22 |
| Al-Qaeda financed the bomb attacks against two synagogues and British interests in Istanbul that killed a total of 63 people in November 2003, one of the suspects told a court here Monday. Adnan Ersoz, who faces a possible term of life in prison without parole, said the money was brought to Turkey by an unidentified "Syrian militant, ... 50,000 dollars (about 41,000 euros) of it via Europe and the other 100,000 dollars via Iran." "We cannot speak of an Al-Qaeda branch in Turkey, but there were ties of mutual assistance between the group that committed the bombings and Al-Qaeda, and the money came from Al-Qaeda," Ersoz said. Ersoz denied participating in the attacks, saying that he was in Iran at the time and the news of the bombings caught him by surprise. In the third session of the trial that opened on May 31, Ersoz admitted to having trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan and met top Al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden in Kandahar before September 11, 2001, but denied he was a member of the terror group. Ersoz said the presumed leader of the terror cell that planned the Istanbul attacks, Habib Akdas, had approached him several times, asking him to help bring into the country the cash to finance the attacks, but he refused. On November 15 last year, car bombs had targetted two Istanbul synagogues and, five days later, the British Consulate and a branch of the British-owned Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). In addition to the 63 dead, which included British consul-general Roger Short, the attacks wounded about 750 people and shocked a nation that had never before witnessed urban terror on such a scale. At Monday`s session of the trial of 69 people accused of involvement in the attacks, Ersoz acknowledged that he had received training in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he met Akdas. Akdas was reported killed in Iraq last week during a US raid on Al Anbar, near Fallujah, in a video recording purporting to show his body and delivered to the Turkish news agency Ihlas. "We all learned the news of Akdas`s death from television this brother has shown us the way to martyrdom," said another chief suspect, Harun Ilhan, who admitted he was one of the bombers. In contrast to the cool Ersoz, the bearded, volatile Ilhan who also faces life in jail flaunted his presumed Al-Qaeda membership. "I acknowledge having fought in the ranks of Al-Qaeda and I`m proud of it," he told the judge. "Al-Qaeda aims to combat American imperialism and the zionist regime in order to liberate Muslims." Ilhan apologized to Muslim victims of the terror attacks and justified the synagogue bombings by saying : "All Jews are spies of the Zionist regime." By attacking the synagogues, Ilhan said, his group had "sent them a message in a language they can understand." He claimed full responsibility for the attacks. The bombings "belong to Habib Akdas, Gurcan Bac (another suspect, still on the run) and me all the others are innocent," Ilhan said. The seven other suspects present in court Monday did not contradict him. Some acknowledged having received training in Afghanistan but denied any part in the bombings, while others claimed they had simply been manipulated by the terrorists. The trial resumes Tuesday and the currrent session is expected to last until Friday. |
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| Turkish Terror Suspect Testifies | ||
| 2004-09-13 | ||
| A Turkish terror suspect testified Monday that members of an alleged Turkish al-Qaida cell met with Osama bin Laden and other top leaders of the network in Afghanistan and hinted the group funneled $150,000 to fund suicide bombings in Istanbul. The nine suspects, among 69 on trial for the suicide truck bombings that killed 61 people, appeared in court Monday to testify for the first time. The November 2003 bombings targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank. Prosecutors say those killed included British Consul-General Roger Short, and that more than 600 people were wounded. In his testimony, defendant Adnan Ersoz acknowledged that he helped arrange a 2001 meeting between Abu Hafs al-Masri, a former top lieutenant of bin Laden, and Habib Akdas, the alleged leader of the Turkish cell. At the meeting, al-Masri agreed to give $8,900 to bring Turks to Afghanistan to wage a jihad, or holy war, Ersoz said. Al-Masri said al-Qaida was also interested in carrying out an attack on an Israeli ship making a call in Turkey or on the southern Turkish Incirlik air base that is used by U.S. jets, he said. Akdas said "he'd do research and find out" about a possible attack, according to the testimony. Ersoz said Akdas was interested in meeting bin Laden and that the two attended a talk by the al-Qaida leader a few days later. Later that year, Akdas approached Ersoz and said he wanted to attack Incirlik, the defendant said. "He talked to me about it and wanted me to help. He wanted $150,000 or $200,000 from al-Qaida," Ersoz said. "I didn't accept the proposal. ... I tried to talk him out of it." He said Akdas later told him that he had received $150,000 from "people" in Syria and Iran. Ersoz denied any direct involvement in the later attacks.
On Friday, Turkish television stations broadcast a video believed to have been prepared by militants that claimed that Akdas was killed in a U.S. bombing raid in Iraq. Turkish authorities have said that Akdas is believed to have fled to Iraq and was reportedly involved in the kidnapping of several Turkish workers there in recent months. Al-Masri was reported killed in a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001.
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| Oops! Turkey: Terror trial delayed as court is abolished |
| 2004-06-01 |
| via FT.com By Vincent Boland in Ankara - June 1 2004 A high-profile trial in Turkey involving alleged al-Qaeda terrorism was postponed in dramatic circumstances yesterday because recent reforms to the countryâs criminal justice system abolished the court where it was due to take place. The case involves 69 suspects accused of carrying out a series of bomb attacks in Istanbul last November that killed 61 people and injured more than 600. The attacks were the worst in Turkey since the end of the war against Kurdish separatists in the late 1990s, and Turkish security forces blamed al-Qaeda. But the trial was mired in confusion last night after defence lawyers successfully argued that the state security court where it was to take place had no jurisdiction to hear it. The judge suspended the trial after the defendants who were in court refused to testify. Turkeyâs state security courts, which heard cases of terrorism, sedition and other serious crimes, were abolished last month as part of a series of constitutional reforms inspired by Turkeyâs drive to join the European Union. The postponement is an embarrassment for the government because a new court system with the authority to hear cases of serious crime, including terrorism, has not yet been established. The justice ministry declined to comment yesterday, but legal experts said the trial was unlikely to resume until a new court system was in place. The trial of the suspects is set to be the most significant involving alleged terrorism since the 1999 conviction of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK Kurdish separatist organisation. The bombs exploded at two synagogues, the British consulate and the Turkey headquarters of the HSBC banking group. Roger Short, the British consul-general in Istanbul, was among those killed. Some of the suspects in the bombings have not yet been arrested, and only 12 were brought to the court in Istanbul yesterday for the start of the trial. They are accused of attempting to overthrow the state and of membership of an illegal organisation. The postponement comes as Turkey prepares a massive security operation ahead of this monthâs Nato summit in Istanbul, which will be attended by President George W. Bush and other world leaders. Whoa, how do you say, "Hey, dood, is that egg all over yer face?" in Turkish? |
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| Suspected Al-Qaida Militants Indicted for Istanbul Bombings |
| 2004-02-25 |
| Turkish prosecutors indicted 69 alleged al-Qaida militants suspected in last yearâs Istanbul suicide bombings, and warned Wednesday that Osama bin Ladenâs terror network regards this Muslim country as a legitimate target. Two of the suspects met with bin Laden in Afghanistan, NTV television reported, citing the 128-page indictment. Istanbul prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for five of the suspects, and sentences from 4 1/2 to 22 1/2 years for the remaining 64, the Anatolia news agency reported. All the suspects are Turks accused of belonging to a local cell of al-Qaida. A prosecutor briefed reporters from some Turkish media organizations on the indictment, which was expected to be released in the coming days. NTV, quoting from the indictment, said al-Qaida considered this predominantly Muslim but secular country to be a legitimate site for terror attacks because it is not sufficiently Islamic. Radical Muslim groups in Turkey often criticize the governmentâs ties with Israel and the United States, accusing it of collaborating with "infidels." And we canât have that The November attacks, by four suicide bombers in explosives-laden trucks, killed 63 people and wounded about 700 others. The bombers struck two synagogues and, days later, a London-based bank and the British Consulate, killing British Consul-General Roger Short. The synagogue attacks took place during religious services, though most of the dead were Muslim Turks who happened to be at the site. Regrettable, but necessary. If the infidels hadnât been there, those muslims wouldnât have died. According to the indictment, the militants initially planned to attack a sprawling air base used by U.S. forces in the southeastern town of Incirlik and an Israeli passenger ship during a port call to the Mediterranean resort of Alanya, NTV said. Intelligence officials have said the militants changed their targets after being stymied by high security at Incirlik. High security = targets that shoot back. No trial date has been set for the 69 suspects, but their cases are expected to be heard soon. "Weâre working on writing the verdict right now. Soon as thatâs finished, weâll set a date for the trial." Prosecutors demanded life sentences for Harun Ilhan, Adnan Ersoz, Fevzi Yitik, Osman Eken and Yusuf Polat, who are charged with "attempting to change Turkeyâs constitutional order through the use of force." The charge is similar to treason and was punishable by death until Turkey abolished that penalty in 2002 to help its bid for membership in the European Union. Pity. The other suspects were charged with membership in an illegal group and abetting terrorists. An additional nine top suspects are at large and were not immediately charged, Anatolia reported. The nine - including suspected ringleaders Habip Aktas, Gurcan Bac and Azad Ekinci - are believed to be hiding abroad. Survey says - Iran. NTV said prosecutors claim Aktas got permission for the attacks in a meeting with senior al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Mohammed al-Masri, wanted in connection with the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998. Large truck bombs on soft targets are his trademark. Ersoz and another indicted suspect, Baki Yigit, allegedly met with bin Laden in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This meeting was several years ago. Some of the suspects received military training in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to NTV. Anatolia, citing the indictment, said Aktas gave the order for the attacks, which were allegedly financed by al-Qaida members in Europe and Iran. The name Iran keeps popping up, doesnât it. |
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| Caucasus | |
| Man suspected of Turkish terrorist attacks detained in Azerbaijan | |
| 2004-01-05 | |
Azerbaijani border guards have detained a suspect in the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Turkey, reported chairman of the State Border Service Elchin Guliyev. Guliyev said the man had been detained on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, and underlined that his citizenship is yet to be ascertained. He did not rule out the possibility that that the suspect may be a citizen of a Muslim country. Twenty-eight people were killed and more than 450 wounded as a result of two bomb explosions near the British General Consulate and the office of the British HSBC Bank on November 15. Most of the casualties were British and Turkish citizens. British Consul General Roger Short was among those killed in the suicide bombings.
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| Terror Networks |
| Excerpts from al-Qaeda claim for Istanbul bombings |
| 2003-11-21 |
Statement from the Jihad al Qaeda "Operation Islamic Iron Hammer"We mentioned and we promised in our earlier statement: "As for the tails of America -- especially Britain, Italy, Australia and Japan -- who did not understand what was said by mujahideen leader Sheikh Osama bin Laden before Ramadan when he threatened that martyrdom operations would not stop inside and outside America... And if they do not understand words then the cars of death will make them understand". |
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| Europe |
| More on Turkey Bombings - Arrests Made! |
| 2003-11-21 |
| Turkish investigators on Friday arrested suspects in the deadly suicide bombings on the British consulate and a London-based bank that have been blamed on al-Qaida. Foreign governments, meanwhile, warned more terrorist attacks could target Turkey. 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. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul confirmed the arrests but would not give details or say how the suspects were linked to Thursdayâs blasts. The attacks came five days after suicide bombers hit two synagogues in Istanbul. The daily newspaper Hurriyet said police were interrogating seven people in the attacks, which killed at least 27 people. The paper also said police believe the suicide bombers were two Turkish men linked to the perpetrators of the synagogue attacks, which killed 23 people. 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. "They will be damned until eternity." well said. Unlike the tacit approval given to the terrorists by a lot of American Muslims. In Washington, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the attacks bore the marks of an al-Qaida operation. Saturdayâs synagogue attacks also were blamed on al-Qaida. The back-to-back attacks raised fears that Islamic extremists were targeting Turkey, because it is a rare example of a secular but mostly Muslim democracy, with close ties to the United States, European nations and Israel. Istanbul may have been targeted "because Turkey is a successful democracy, it is overwhelming Islamic, and in democracy and freedom recently elected an Islamic party ... that is also democratic and forward looking," said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who flew to Istanbul following Thursdayâs attack. Britain warned citizens against nonessential travel to major Turkish cities. Straw said the decision to take that step was based on intelligence reports of a threat of more attacks. Other nations, including the United States, Germany and Australia, issued similar warnings â prompting fears that drops in foreign investment and tourism could hurt the countryâs recovery from its worst recession in decades. The Istanbul stock exchange remained closed Friday after plummeting 7 percent before it was shut down Thursday. In efforts to talk up the economy, Straw said Britain would intensify its backing for Turkeyâs long-standing bid to join the European Union. The bombings against British targets coincided with President Bushâs 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. Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said four of the 16 dead at the consulate were British, including Consul-General Roger Short and his personal assistant, Lisa Hallworth. He also said that the death toll was likely to rise. One woman was reported brain dead Friday, although authorities did not immediately add her to the list of fatalities. Hurriyet quoted police sources as tentatively identifying the two bombers in Thursdayâs attack as Azad Ekinci, 27, and Feridun Ugurlu, whose age was not immediately known. The pair had been named in earlier Turkish newspaper reports as having links with the synagogue bombings. Hurriyet said Ekinci and Ugurlu traveled to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 28 and identified Ekinci as a schoolmate of one of the men suspected in the synagogue attacks. Earlier reports said Ekinci had traveled to Iran, received military and explosive training in Pakistan between 1997-99 and fought in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya. An unidentified caller to the semiofficial Anatolia news agency said al-Qaida and a small militant Turkish group, the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front jointly claimed responsibility for both sets of attacks. Witnesses said one pickup truck exploded in front of the HSBC bank building. The second crashed through the gate of the British consulate destroying annexes to the main building. Hurriyet reported that police in front of the consulate opened fire as the men approached the consulate, but failed to stop them before they detonated the explosives. Two of the dead where Turkish policemen. Authorities arrested six people Wednesday in the synagogue bombings. A court charged five with "attempting to overthrow the constitutional structure," which carries a sentence of life imprisonment. The sixth was charged with "helping illegal organizations," punishable by five years in prison, Anatolia said. No trial date was set. The two suicide bombers who attacked the synagogues were identified as Turks who Gul said had visited Afghanistan. Al-Qaida and the Turkish IBDA-C also claimed responsibility for that blast. |
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| Europe |
| Istanbul ânot safeâ for Britons |
| 2003-11-20 |
| Britons have been warned against making all but the most essential travel to Istanbul following Thursdayâs blasts. The British Consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters in the city were hit in a series of explosions which killed at least 25 people and injured 400. British Consul-General Roger Short is among those missing. Witnesses reported seeing a van driving straight at the consulate building before the explosion. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it was clear a number of Britons had died. At least 14 people are reported to have been killed at the consulate. Britons were recommended not to travel to Istanbul unless on "essential business" but Foreign Office advice for the rest of Turkey has not changed. The Foreign Office said there was "a significant threat from terrorism in Turkey". In a statement to the foreign secretary the Queen said she was "deeply shocked" to hear of the attacks. "Please pass my deepest sympathy to all caught up in these evil acts of terrorism", she said. "My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved and injured and those still waiting for news". A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents said there were thought to be less than 100 UK tourists in Istanbul at the moment. Millions of Britons visit Turkey every year but most tend to go to coastal resorts, such as Bodrum, which are many miles from Istanbul. Murat, be sure to wave your countryâs tourist economy a cheery goodbye. British Airways, which operates twice-daily return flights between London and Istanbul held its 1010 GMT Istanbul-bound flight from Heathrow for 30 minutes while considering the situation. Eventually BA decided the flight should leave and it has decided flights would continue for the time being. But a BA spokeswoman told BBC News Online the airline would continually review their position in light of the situation. The Foreign Office, in advice posted on its website on Thursday, said: "We advise against all but the most essential travel to Istanbul, until the situation becomes clearer. "Until further notice, the British Consulate in Istanbul will not be able to provide the full range of services." (That has to rank as understatement of the month.) It goes on to say: "We urge you to be vigilant in all parts of the country, and especially in the vicinity of potential terrorist targets." Tony Blair has said the bombings in Istanbul reminded everybody of the "evil" terrorists posed to innocent people all over the world. President Bush, in London on a state visit, also condemned the attacks. Mr Blair said Britain must "stand side by side with the United States, and others, to rid our world of this evil once and for all". He expressed his condolences to all those who had died in Istanbul. BBC correspondent Steve Bryant said the emergency services in Istanbul were struggling to get to grips with the aftermath of the explosions, which happened almost simultaneously. He said eyewitness reports suggested a car, laden with explosives, rammed the main gate of the consulate and caused "devastation", destroying a building. The British Ambassor to Turkey, Peter Westmacott, is en route from Ankara to Istanbul. The Metropolitan Police is sending a number of officers from the Anti-Terrorist Squad to Istanbul to help with the investigation. HSBC issued a statement which said: "Two HSBC buildings have been struck by the bomb blasts across the city, including our head office in Levent. "It is with deep regret that we have to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities. Our thoughts are with the bereaved, the injured and their families." The British consulate in Istanbul was previously targeted in April when an explosive device was thrown at the building. Murat, who did that - was it Americans, Brits or Jews? You must have strong suspicions, at least. Also in April, three small devices exploded in the town of Izmir, one of which was near the British consulate. Arenât you in or near Izmir, Murat? You ought to know which Western agents were resonsible then. |
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