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| Europe |
| Explosions rock Istanbul synagogues |
| 2003-11-15 |
| At least 23 people have been killed by separate explosions near two synagogues in the Turkish city of Istanbul. The blasts rocked Istanbul’s largest synagogue, the Neve Shalom, in Beyoglu district and another synagogue nearby, shattering windows and damaging cars. Turkish officials said both explosions were caused by car bombs. Eyewitnesses reported seeing body parts strewn on the street outside the Neve Shalom synagogue, the scene of another deadly attack in 1986. The blast at Neve Shalom destroyed the facade of the building, where worshippers were praying at the time, French news agency AFP reported. Minutes later, a second explosion rocked Beth Israel synagogue to the north, severely damaging the building. "We heard a deafening explosion. Then the electricity went out and it was mayhem," Mustafa, a local resident, told AFP. At least 80 people are reported to have been injured in the blasts. There has been no statement from any group or organisation claiming responsibility for the explosions. Television pictures showed casualties being treated in the street outside Neve Shalom and being carried away on stretchers. 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. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #21 I'm not kidding. Murat's comments in the past do not permit me to in turn insult the people who died in the explosion today. Patrick is exactly right. Scooter: today is Saturday. Murat generally (as far as I can tell) doesn't post on Saturdays. Especially today, when he may be glued to the TV. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-11-15 10:15:28 PM |
| #20 the insult to Murat is inappropriate. You should apologize. You're kidding right?? How about Murat apologizes for his 'raining Yanks' comment? |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-11-15 8:32:31 PM |
| #19 Scooter... Murat's a troll... you're not. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-11-15 5:31:07 PM |
| #18 Steve White: I see no denial from Murat, and certainly no need to apologize. He likes to take cheap shots, but conveniently never seems around to answer the hard questions. I find his silence speaks louder than words. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-11-15 5:07:56 PM |
| #17 Imagine... Christian radicals blow up a mosque with praying people inside and Western leaders say that the act was "inacceptable" but as long as the Arab states violated UN resolutions we'd see more of innocent Muslims die (which is pretty much what the Secretary General of the Arab League said today). Just imagine... |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-11-15 4:14:46 PM |
| #16 Any disagreements we may have with Murat and the policies of the current Turkish government have nothing to do with the innocent people who were murdered in Istanbul. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-11-15 2:59:23 PM |
| #15 Terrorism is terrorism, no matter who it strikes; jewish followers or turkish bystanders, my sympathy goes to the victims and their family, and I sincerely hope the gvt will get the bombers, ottoman-style. As for Murat, I also think some comments are not appropriate, especially at that time. My condolences too. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-15 2:16:52 PM |
| #14 We're all in this together. Murat, my condolences. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2003-11-15 2:08:57 PM |
| #13 Scooter: the insult to Murat is inappropriate. You should apologize. Murat thinks very differently than us but my belief is that he's a decent Joe in a country very different from ours. We need to educate him at times (a lot :-) but he's fundamentally a good guy. My condolences to the Turkish people and to all those maimed and killed in this attack. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-11-15 1:38:35 PM |
| #12 Al Q and/or associates are hitting relatively soft targets. They want to weaken the govt or cause dissention or a govt crackdown. NOBODY I mean NOBODY on this oblate spheriod is immune from the madness. The Islamist terrorists can cause havoc but they cannot win. Their victory will be their destruction, as their resource base will be destroyed, e.g. Saudi Arabia and the funding they get from there. So now it boils down to how much destruction is the world willing to take from these Islamic a--holes before we collectively squash them like bugs. My heart goes out to the people of Turkey for their loss in this sensless tragedy. The Jews in Turkey are equivalent to the canary in the coal mine. I hope that the Turks see it that way, too. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-11-15 1:37:56 PM |
| #11 Turkey is one of the few countries in the Middle East that recognizes Israel's right to exist. The Turkish military has substantial ties to the Israeli military and they're probably going to pull out all of the stops to nail whoever did this. Also, CNN Turk is reporting per a Turkish friend of mine that the Iranian-backed IBDA-C (the Raiders) weren't responsible for this, they just claimed responsibility for the sake of form. Islam Online has a round-up of the condolences and says that Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu is skeptical that the Raiders could have pulled this off on their own. My Turk friend says that the main suspects so far are al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-11-15 1:06:39 PM |
| #10 Let's give the HT a little credit here. I doubt Murat happy about this. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-11-15 1:05:21 PM |
| #9 The only logical explanation - it's a CIA plot, just like the Saudi bombs, to discredit poor ol' al Kayda. BUSH IS THE DEVIL. VOMIT FOR PEACE. |
| Posted by: eyeyeye 2003-11-15 10:23:00 AM |
| #8 B - my heart goes out to the wounded and killed, not the Turkish people. This is an attack by Turkish muslims targeting kuffars. Murat is probably celebrating this strike at the evil Zionists who live in his midst. Right, Murat? |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-11-15 10:18:04 AM |
| #7 It's gotten to the point that I simply expect stupid things to happen, grimace, and move on. |
| Posted by: Hiryu 2003-11-15 9:20:25 AM |
| #6 I feel very saddened by this. My heart goes out to the Turkish people. What a senseless crime. |
| Posted by: B 2003-11-15 8:33:31 AM |
| #5 Well crud. I guess they decided that Muslims weren't very good targets after Riyadh. Now while I feel sympathy for those injured and killed, I wonder if Murat is celebrating this attack on the 'Zionists'? |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-11-15 8:32:39 AM |
| #4 Murat- If you are out there, I'm sorry to hear of this cowardly attack on your country. What is your take on this terrorism? |
| Posted by: Craig 2003-11-15 8:17:50 AM |
| #3 possibly al Qaeda Yeah but why deny the Raiders a chance of making the shitlist. If they want it that badly... |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-11-15 7:37:55 AM |
| #2 Re. "possibly al-Qaeda": it's always al-Qaeda. The consensus is that they are a movement, rather than an organization. Wherever polls of al-Qaeda popularity are taken in the Muslim dominated countries, they usually receive 40-60%. Muslims are at war with the secular states, and the sooner we engage them on a global scale, the better. |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2003-11-15 7:23:47 AM |
| #1 more on attack Car bombs rock Istanbul Saturday, November 15, 2003 Posted: 6:07 AM EST (1107 GMT) Dozens of people have been injured. ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- At least 15 people were killed and 146 injured Saturday morning when two cars laden with explosives simultaneously detonated near two Jewish synagogues in Istanbul, according to the Turkish interior minister. Turkish officials believe the explosions -- which took place early Saturday morning on the Jewish Sabbath -- were a coordinated terror attack. Police are still investigating whether the explosions were the result of suicide bombers or remote controlled devices. Turkish media reported the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front had claimed responsibility for the attacks, but government officials in Ankara suspect the attacks were carried out by terrorists outside the country, possibly al Qaeda |
| Posted by: RMcLeod 2003-11-15 6:26:09 AM |