Anti-terrorism police yesterday were tracking down suspects in a crackdown on extremists responsible for a string of deadly terrorist bombings that killed 54 people. At least three groups with purported links to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Hurriyet newspaper reported yesterday that 18 people were taken into custody late Thursday, just hours after two near-simultaneous attacks on British targets in Istanbul killed 29 people and injured hundreds, many critically. Among the dead were the two presumed suicide bombers who executed the attacks at the British consulate and the Turkish headquarters of London-based HSBC bank.
Investigators have identified the automobile dealership that sold pickup trucks used in the strikes, Hurriyet said without giving further details. The trucks were packed with explosives and then detonated once they reached their targets.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"We have made important strides in the investigation," Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told CNN-Turk television, without elaborating. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul confirmed on Friday that police had made arrests.
The attacks Thursday came just five days after similar truck-bomb strikes against two Istanbul synagogues that killed 23 people, plus two suicide bombers. Six people have been arrested in those attacks, authorities said.
Turkey has placed its security forces on high alert and has ordered its anti-terrorism and intelligence agents to cancel vacations. Foreign governments, including the US and Britain, cautioned that terrorists could strike again and issued travel warnings to their citizens. Britain has sent anti-terrorism investigators to Turkey, and Israeli media reported that Jerusalem also dispatched specialists.
Later yesterday, silent protests were planned for cities across Turkey, including Istanbul and the capital of Ankara. Organized by trade unions and nongovernment organizations, the protests were intended to express sympathy for the victims and indignation over the attacks -- the deadliest peacetime violence here in a generation.
At least one synagogue canceled its Sabbath service yesterday. Funerals for two police officers and a well-known stage actor who died in the attacks were also planned for later in the day. The actor, Kerem Yilmazer, was killed when he stopped his car at a traffic light near the HSBC bank.
Meanwhile, an intelligence report said some Islamic radicals who fought in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Bosnia may have returned to Turkey.
At least three groups or individuals claiming links to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks, including a small militant Turkish group, the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front.
Another claim came from an alleged al-Qaeda 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 US in Iraq, warning Tokyo "is the easiest place to destroy."
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese