FCO advises against Istanbul travel after bombings

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.