THE
Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against non-essential travel to
Istanbul after two bombs rocked the city this morning, killing at least 25 and
injuring around 400.
The
attacks, on the British Consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters, are thought
to have been carried out by suicide car bombers. Witnesses reported seeing a
van driving straight at the consulate building before the explosion.
British
Consul-General Roger Short has been confirmed as among the dead.
The
explosions follow last Saturday’s suicide bomb attacks against two synagogues
in Istanbul that killed 23 people.
Turkish
Islamic militant group IBDA-C and al-Qaeda jointly claimed responsibility for
today’s bombings.