Post by Salem6 on Nov 15, 2003 11:32:27 GMT
At least 15 people have been killed by separate explosions near two synagogues in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
Turkish officials said car bombs rocked Istanbul's largest synagogue, the Neve Shalom, in Beyoglu district, and another synagogue nearby.
The blasts struck worshippers at prayer
Turkey's interior minister said 146 people were wounded in the attacks, which occurred minutes apart.
A group called the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front said it was responsible, Turkish media reported.
Israel has denounced the blasts as "criminal terror attacks".
'Deafening explosion'
The bombs exploded outside the synagogues as worshippers were holding Sabbath morning prayers.
The facade of Neve Shalom collapsed and the second synagogue, the Beth Israel, about five kilometres (3 miles) away in Sisli district, was also severely damaged.
"We heard a deafening explosion. Then the electricity went out and it was mayhem," said Mustafa, a worker near the Neve Shalom.
The number of casualties remains unclear.
Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said seven people were killed in Beyoglu and eight in Sisli, after earlier saying that 23 people had died.
Television footage showed wounded people staggering in the street, some with bloodied or charred faces.
Some victims were treated at the scene, while the local hospital was reported to be struggling to cope with the number of injured.
Cars were wrecked by the blasts and windows were shattered across a wide area.
"It was like a war zone," said eyewitness Sadettin Gul.
The Neve Shalom synagogue was the scene of an attack in 1986, when Palestinian gunmen killed 22 worshippers and wounded six others during a Sabbath service.
'Forces of evil'
A caller claiming to be from a radical Turkish group, Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front - also known as IBDA/C - said it carried out the attack, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.
The caller was quoted as saying: "The reason [for the attacks] is to stop the oppression of the Muslims... Our acts will continue."
The IBDA/C carried out a series of attacks around Istanbul in the 1990s.
Turkish police said they were still investigating possible links to other radical groups, including the al-Qaeda network.
The BBC's Steve Bryant in Istanbul says there had been no warning of any attacks against Jewish targets in the city.
He says Istanbul has a small Jewish community that generally has very good relationships with other Turks.
Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, called on the international community to fight against what he called "the forces of evil".
"Terror is terror whether it targets Jews or non-Jews," the foreign ministry said.
The Neve Shalom explosion littered the street with debris, wrecked cars and gouged out a big crater
The Neve Shalom synagogue's facade was wrecked and debris was scattered for 200 metres up and down the street
Most casualties occurred at the Neve Shalom synagogue - where worshippers were holding Sabbath prayers
Video:-
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39572000/rm/_39572581_turkey10_bryant15_vi.ram
Turkish officials said car bombs rocked Istanbul's largest synagogue, the Neve Shalom, in Beyoglu district, and another synagogue nearby.
The blasts struck worshippers at prayer
Turkey's interior minister said 146 people were wounded in the attacks, which occurred minutes apart.
A group called the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front said it was responsible, Turkish media reported.
Israel has denounced the blasts as "criminal terror attacks".
'Deafening explosion'
The bombs exploded outside the synagogues as worshippers were holding Sabbath morning prayers.
The facade of Neve Shalom collapsed and the second synagogue, the Beth Israel, about five kilometres (3 miles) away in Sisli district, was also severely damaged.
"We heard a deafening explosion. Then the electricity went out and it was mayhem," said Mustafa, a worker near the Neve Shalom.
The number of casualties remains unclear.
Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said seven people were killed in Beyoglu and eight in Sisli, after earlier saying that 23 people had died.
Television footage showed wounded people staggering in the street, some with bloodied or charred faces.
Some victims were treated at the scene, while the local hospital was reported to be struggling to cope with the number of injured.
Cars were wrecked by the blasts and windows were shattered across a wide area.
"It was like a war zone," said eyewitness Sadettin Gul.
The Neve Shalom synagogue was the scene of an attack in 1986, when Palestinian gunmen killed 22 worshippers and wounded six others during a Sabbath service.
'Forces of evil'
A caller claiming to be from a radical Turkish group, Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front - also known as IBDA/C - said it carried out the attack, the Turkish Anatolia news agency reported.
The caller was quoted as saying: "The reason [for the attacks] is to stop the oppression of the Muslims... Our acts will continue."
The IBDA/C carried out a series of attacks around Istanbul in the 1990s.
Turkish police said they were still investigating possible links to other radical groups, including the al-Qaeda network.
The BBC's Steve Bryant in Istanbul says there had been no warning of any attacks against Jewish targets in the city.
He says Istanbul has a small Jewish community that generally has very good relationships with other Turks.
Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, called on the international community to fight against what he called "the forces of evil".
"Terror is terror whether it targets Jews or non-Jews," the foreign ministry said.
The Neve Shalom explosion littered the street with debris, wrecked cars and gouged out a big crater
The Neve Shalom synagogue's facade was wrecked and debris was scattered for 200 metres up and down the street
Most casualties occurred at the Neve Shalom synagogue - where worshippers were holding Sabbath prayers
Video:-
news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/39572000/rm/_39572581_turkey10_bryant15_vi.ram