The Ryou Black Islands
28-07-2008, 00:53
From BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7527977.stm)
Fourteen die in Istanbul blasts
TV pictures show men and women lying in pools of blood
At least 14 people have been killed in two explosions in Istanbul, which the governor of the Turkish city has described as terror attacks.
The first blast occurred in a telephone booth and the second went off as crowds gathered. About 70 people were wounded.
TV footage showed bloodied men and women lying on the street and being carried to ambulances in blankets.
The blasts occurred at 2200 local time (1900 GMT) in the Gungoren district of the city, popular with local people.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford says the area is popular with crowds taking a stroll on a warm evening.
Police, firefighters and natural gas teams are now in the area. Initial reports had suggested it may have been a gas leak.
Hidden in bins
But Governor Muammer Guler said he was "certain that this is a terror attack".
He said the bombs had been placed in rubbish bins and that it was not a suicide bombing.
"The blasts occurred in a very busy district and this raised the casualties. Thirteen citizens lost their lives in this heinous attack," he said.
The editor of the New Anatolian newspaper, Ilnur Cevik, told the BBC there had been about 1,000 people in the area when the first, small bomb went off.
"It attracted a lot of people to the area," he said. "Some were coming in to rescue and then a second bomb went off and that was where most of the casualties occurred."
A politician from the governing AK Party, Murat Mercan, told the BBC that Turkey would not give in to terrorists.
"Terrorists are trying to destabilise the country, but Turkey has already a lot of experience on this terrorism so it won't distract our country, our society from daily, ordinary life," he said.
There have been no claims of responsibility for the blasts, but Turkish cities have been targeted by various groups in recent years.
In November 2003, more than 60 people were killed by a series of suicide bombings in Istanbul which the authorities linked to al-Qaeda.
Kurdish rebels carried out a spate of attacks on tourist sites in Turkey in 2006, killing more than a dozen people.
Fourteen die in Istanbul blasts
TV pictures show men and women lying in pools of blood
At least 14 people have been killed in two explosions in Istanbul, which the governor of the Turkish city has described as terror attacks.
The first blast occurred in a telephone booth and the second went off as crowds gathered. About 70 people were wounded.
TV footage showed bloodied men and women lying on the street and being carried to ambulances in blankets.
The blasts occurred at 2200 local time (1900 GMT) in the Gungoren district of the city, popular with local people.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford says the area is popular with crowds taking a stroll on a warm evening.
Police, firefighters and natural gas teams are now in the area. Initial reports had suggested it may have been a gas leak.
Hidden in bins
But Governor Muammer Guler said he was "certain that this is a terror attack".
He said the bombs had been placed in rubbish bins and that it was not a suicide bombing.
"The blasts occurred in a very busy district and this raised the casualties. Thirteen citizens lost their lives in this heinous attack," he said.
The editor of the New Anatolian newspaper, Ilnur Cevik, told the BBC there had been about 1,000 people in the area when the first, small bomb went off.
"It attracted a lot of people to the area," he said. "Some were coming in to rescue and then a second bomb went off and that was where most of the casualties occurred."
A politician from the governing AK Party, Murat Mercan, told the BBC that Turkey would not give in to terrorists.
"Terrorists are trying to destabilise the country, but Turkey has already a lot of experience on this terrorism so it won't distract our country, our society from daily, ordinary life," he said.
There have been no claims of responsibility for the blasts, but Turkish cities have been targeted by various groups in recent years.
In November 2003, more than 60 people were killed by a series of suicide bombings in Istanbul which the authorities linked to al-Qaeda.
Kurdish rebels carried out a spate of attacks on tourist sites in Turkey in 2006, killing more than a dozen people.