A percussion bomb blew up on a young womanâs lap killing her and at least three others on an Istanbul bus today â creating panic in a city that is to host a Nato summit attended by world leaders including George Bush and Tony Blair on Monday. Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said the bomb exploded in the lap of a young woman in her early 20s who was most likely transporting the bomb when it accidentally went off. âIt was apparently a bomb that was being carried,â Guler said. âIt is understood that the target was neither the bus nor the passengers aboard.â A hospital doctor said the woman was killed in the blast. | Pity others were killed, no pity for her. |
Guler said the bomb was a percussion bomb â a type of bomb that makes a lot of noise but causes little damage unless it goes off in a confined area. | A really big firecracker, that's what I thought they were. |
About a half-dozen small percussion bombs have exploded in Istanbul in recent days, injuring several people. Left wing groups have used the bombs in the past. âWe are considering the likelihood of a Marxist-leaning organisation,â Guler said when asked who could be behind the attacks. | The islamic-leaning organizations tend to wrap their bombs with nails and ball-bearings. |
Ankara Police Chief Ercument Yilmaz said officers in the Ankara blast were injured when they approached a package containing explosives to verify a tip that a bomb had been placed nearby. One officer lost a foot in the blast. A small Marxist group, MLKP-FESK, claimed responsibility for the Ankara blast, private NTV television reported. Police would not comment on the report. | "We can't comment right now, call back later." |
The Ankara bomb exploded some 75 yards from the entrance of the hotel where President Bush is due to stay, shattering windows of nearby buildings. |