ISTANBUL, TURKEY: At least 26 people were killed and more than 450 wounded Thursday as two trucks packed with explosives blew up outside the British consulate and the headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank, Full Fox News Story.
A man calling the semi-official Anatolia news agency claimed that Al Qaeda and the Great Eastern Raiders’ Front, or IBDA-C, a Turkish Islamic militant group, jointly claimed responsibility for attacks. This claim has not been authenticated by either Turkish or U.S. authorities.
Among the dead was British Consul-General Roger Short, the Anatolia news agency quoted U.S. Ambassador Eric Edelmankey as saying. An embassy chaplain also told the BBC that Short had died.
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to defeat the terrorists. “The goal of these attacks is doomed to be destroyed in the face of the government’s determination...and international solidarity in fighting terrorism,” he said.
Currently, the U.S. State Department knows of no Americans killed or hurt in the blast. According to Reuters, Istanbul’s government said 14 were killed at the British consulate.