Suicide Bombers Strike Istanbul Synagogues
At Least 16 Killed, More Than 140 Hurt
By JAMES C. HELICKE, AP
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Nov. 15) - Car bombs exploded outside two synagogues in
Istanbul at almost the same time during Sabbath prayers on Saturday, killing at
least 16 people and wounding more than 140, the interior minister said.
Man injured in bombing is treated at hospital. (AFP/Getty Images)
One car bomb detonated near the Neve Shalom synagogue, the city's largest. The
other severely damaged the Beth Israel Synagogue in the affluent district of
Sisli, three miles away.
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said 16 people were killed and 146 were
wounded. Aksu had earlier said 23 people were killed. He did not explain the
discrepancy.
Aksu said the police were investigating whether the attacks were a suicide
bombing, or if the bombs were on timers or detonated by a remote control.
The explosions happened during morning Sabbath prayers.
Television footage showed medical teams carrying away several people, some with
bloodied or charred faces. Private NTV television showed the twisted wreckage
of a car and a huge crater in front of the Neve Shalom.
''There was huge panic, glasses exploding and metal pieces all over the place.
There were lots of people injured,'' said one man, Enver Eker, who say the
blast. ''We saw someone put a head in a cardboard box.''
Security has been tight at Neve Shalom since a 1986 attack when gunmen killed
22 worshippers and wounded six during a Sabbath service. The Iranian-backed
Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah carried out a bomb attack against the synagogue
in 1992, but no one was injured.
Parking was not allowed in front of the synagogues but intelligence sources
said two slow moving pickup trucks could have been exploded while passing by,
private NTV television said.
''This is a bomb aimed at the stability and peace in the Turkish Republic,''
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters during a visit to
Cyprus. ''I am condemning this because this is an attack against the
humanity.''
In a telephone call to Anatolia, a person claiming to be from a radical Turkish
group, the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front, said the militant group was
responsible for the attacks, and promised more.
The caller said ''the attacks would continue in the future and the reason was
that to prevent the oppression against Muslims,'' the agency said.
NTV television said a red car was seen parked just before the explosion in
front of the Neve Shalom - Hebrew for ''oasis of peace.''
The synagogue is the most important spiritual center for the 25,000-member
Jewish community of predominantly Muslim Turkey.
Private NTV television quoted police as saying they had intelligence recently
that al-Qaida may have been preparing attacks in Turkey.
Turkey was the first Muslim country to recognize Israel in 1948 and the two
nations have strengthened relations with a series of agreements, especially on
military matters.
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| User: "WH" |
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| Title: Re: Suicide Bombers Strike Istanbul Synagogues |
15 Nov 2003 11:02:03 AM |
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"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> skrev i meddelandet
news:20031115075938.28583.00000279@mb-m11.aol.com...
Suicide Bombers Strike Istanbul Synagogues
At Least 16 Killed, More Than 140 Hurt
By JAMES C. HELICKE, AP
Strangely enough...this was on my telly too!
WH
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Suicide Bombers Strike Istanbul Synagogues |
15 Nov 2003 11:28:53 AM |
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On 15 Nov 2003 12:59:38 GMT, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
Suicide Bombers Strike Istanbul Synagogues
At Least 16 Killed, More Than 140 Hurt
By JAMES C. HELICKE, AP
No suprise here. Turkey has agreed not to send troops to Iraq. They
***** Bushie baby so I guess it was bound to happen.
"life is like a mushroom, they feed you ***** and keep you in the dark"
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