| Turkish alqaida group claims responsbiliity for istanbul attacks Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-11/20/content_1190350.htmhttp://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-11/20/content_1190350.htm
Al-Qaida, Turkish Islamic militant group claim responsibility for Istanbul attacks www.chinaview.cn 2003-11-20 20:22:43
ANKARA, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- A caller told the semi-official Anatolia news agency that the Al-Qaida terror network and the Turkish Islamic militant group IBDA-C jointly claimed responsibility for a series of blasts Thursday morning in Istanbul.
"The attacks are a joint operation by the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient (IBDA-C) and al-Qaida, " the caller was quoted as saying. More attacks would continue to be launched, the unidentified man warned, saying that "Muslims are not alone."
Al-Qaida terror network and IBDA-C have also claimed responsibility for the attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul fivedays ago, in which 25 people were killed and over 300 others wounded. But it was not possible to authenticate those claims.
In Thursday's bombing attacks, at least 15 people were killed and more than 300 others wounded, CNN Turk television channel reported.
Earlier reports said five explosions rocked Istanbul, one of which occurred near the British Consulate General in Istanbul, one near the Turkish headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank, and one in front of a shopping mall.
Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu has confirmed there were two explosions that rocked Istanbul Thursday, and the blasts might have been linked to the twin attacks on two synagogues last Saturday, according to the semi-official Anatolia news agency.
Aksu said the blasts outside the British consulate and the HSBC bank had been almost simultaneous.
"There could be a link. This could be the second wave of thesame incident," he said, when Asked whether the blasts were linkedto attacks on Istanbul synagogues. Enditem
|
|