A pair of bombings targeting British interests rocked downtown Istanbul, Turkey, killing at least 27 people and injuring nearly 450.
Explosives-laden trucks blew up outside the British consulate and the high-rise headquarters of British bank HSBC – the second largest bank in the world.
Television footage shows the facade of the 23-story building blown off and all the windows shattered. Water gushed from the wreckage.
The massive blasts, happened less than five minutes apart just before 11 a.m. local time, throwing the city into chaos.
The bank explosion was so powerful it created a 9-foot-deep crater around the building’s perimeter.
Witnesses report burned out cars, blood and body parts littered the streets. Much of the city’s power was cut.
“It’s total chaos,” bystander Chris Kitrinos told the BBC. “Civilians are carrying people away from the scene.”
Sky News Turkish reporter Mustafa Azizoglu told Fox News “this is not an ordinary attack,” and said “this is the eleventh of September for Istanbul.”
HSBC officials report “a number” of casualties among their staff.
Turkish authorities report 14 people killed in the embassy. Turkish television reported British Consul-General Roger Short is among the dead.
The explosions follow Saturday’s nearly-simultaneous attacks on two synagogues that killed 23 people. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for those suicide bombings.
Azizoglu reports a yellowish smoke and amonia-like smell filled the air at the sites, as with the synagogue blombings.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today’s attacks bear all the “hallmarks” of al-Qaida and its affiliates.
The semi-official Anatolia news agency reports a man called the station claiming al-Qaida and the Turkish Islamic militant group IBDA-C jointly carried out the terror strike.
The assault comes as President Bush huddles with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London to map out their continuing strategy for fighting global terrorism. Both leaders said the killings underscore the need for the war on terror at a joint press conference.
“Once again we are reminded of the evil these people pose to innocent people, to our way of life,” Blair said.
“We see their utter contempt for innocent life. The terrorists hope to intimidate, they hope to demoralize. They are not going to succeed,” said Bush.
The British consulate is located in the historic Beyoglu district. Officials issued an alert advising against “all but the most essential travel to Istanbul.”
The U.S. consulate was relocated from the same district months ago. According to the State Department, no Americans were killed or hurt.
The West Wing of the White House was briefly evacuated after the attacks due to an “emergency” cited by the Secret Service.
