Police make arrests in connection with Istanbul suicide bombings

Purported Al Qaeda statement claims responsibility, Bush vows solidarity

A Turkish man performs Friday Muslim prayers in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, a day after the twin bombings in the former Turk capital.

By Brian Williams - Reuters

ISTANBUL - Turkey said yesterday police had arrested several people over twin truck bomb attacks on British targets in Istanbul that killed 27 people, including Britain’s top diplomat in the city.

A statement purporting to come from a unit of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network said it had carried out Thursday’s strikes on the British consulate and the London-based HSBC bank, five days after two similar attacks on Istanbul synagogues.

US President George W. Bush, on a state visit to Britain, vowed solidarity with Turkey. But the US also joined Britain in warning its citizens to defer non-essential travel to Turkey, reflecting fears of further terror attacks in the country of 70 million.

“Some people have been arrested, but it’s too early to give any information about them,” Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told a joint news conference with his visiting British counterpart, Jack Straw.

Turkish financial markets held their nerve, with the lira ending slightly firmer though the stock market remained shut.

Newspaper headlines reflected the sense of national shock. “Al Qaeda is at war with Turkey,” declared the Radikal daily. Many Turks as well as Britons were killed or wounded.

Thursday’s twin bombings killed 27 people, including British Consul-General Roger Short, and wounded more than 400.

The Turkish daily Hurriyet said seven people had been arrested over Thursday’s attacks, which it said were carried out by Turkish suicide bombers.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Britain’s biggest company, said it had resumed service in Turkey yesterday despite the blasts.

Turkey’s National Security Council, an advisory body of political leaders and influential military commanders, was sure to focus on the attacks and countermeasures at a meeting in the capital, Ankara, which stretched into yesterday evening.

But EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said he hoped Turkey would not reverse EU-inspired liberal reforms aimed at winning a date to start entry talks with the wealthy bloc.

In a telephone conversation, Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan “affirmed that they stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against terrorism,” the White House said.

A statement apparently from a unit of Al Qaeda, the Abu Hafz al-Masri Brigades, published on the Islamist website Al Mujahidoun, said it had carried out the latest attacks. It could not be independently confirmed.