M A I N   N E W S

Blasts kill 20 in Turkey

A general view after a bomb exploded at an Istanbul synagogue on Saturday. — Reuters

Istanbul, November 15
Car bombs exploded outside two synagogues in Istanbul at almost the same time today, killing at least 20 persons and injuring more than 257, top Turkish ministers said.

A militant Turkish Islamic group claimed responsibility for the blasts, the semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported. Private CNN-Turk television said the police was investigating whether the Al-Qaida had any links to the attack.

“This is a bomb aimed at the stability and peace in the Turkish Republic,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters during a visit to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot republic. “I am damning this. I am condemning this because this is an attack against the humanity.” — AP