TURKEY:AT LEAST 14 people were killed and over 100 injured when two bombs exploded in a suburban area of Istanbul last night.
The first blast took place in a crowded square in the working class Gungoren neighbourhood at about 10pm local time.
A second more powerful explosion occurred several minutes later just a few metres away as a crowd gathered at the site of the first blast. Local media initially reported that the explosions were the result of a gas leak but Istanbul's governor Muammer Guler later said there was no doubt it was a "terror attack". It appeared the bombs had been placed in rubbish bins, Mr Guler added.
The second explosion could be heard a mile away, witnesses said.
"The first explosion was not very strong," said Huseyin Senturk, who owns a shoe shop in the area. "Several people came to see what was going on. That's when the second explosion occurred and it injured many onlookers."
Images broadcast on Turkish television stations showed scenes of panic, with people running from the site of the blasts covered in blood. The footage also showed several seriously injured people being taken away in ambulances.
We received nearly 30 very heavily wounded people, said Abdullah Toker, a manager at Gungoren Kolon Hospital.
Istanbul has been targeted in bomb attacks carried out by several groups in recent years, including Kurdish separatists and Islamist militants.
Officials played down speculation that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) could be responsible for the blasts.
We know it is a terrorist attack, but which organization is responsible we dont yet have that information, deputy prime minister Hayati Yazici told reporters at the scene.
The double bombing follows what Turkish and US officials described as a terrorist attack outside the US consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. In that incident, a gun battle erupted after a number of armed men stormed a police post near the main entrance to the heavily fortified compound. Three of the gunmen and three police officers were killed in the shootout. Four people were injured.
The US consulate building was moved and fortified after Istanbul was hit by four suicide bombings in 2003.
In those attacks Turkish militants linked to al-Qaeda targeted two synagogues, the British consulate and the headquarters of HSBC bank. More than 60 people were killed and hundreds of others injured as trucks loaded with explosives were driven into the buildings.