More explosions rock Istanbul

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is advising against all but essential travel to Istanbul after today’s blasts which have killed at least 26 and injured around 400 people. British Consul-General Roger Short was among those killed in the attacks which are believed to have been carried out by suicide bombers. The British Consulate and the city’s head of the HSBC bank have been badly damaged in the attacks, while another of the explosions is reported to have been at a mosque in the city. News reports state the Turkish stock exchange has stopped trading, and that Turkish television has showed images of several mutilated bodies near the HSBC building. As reported, 23 people were killed at the weekend after attacks on two synagogues in the city. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office this morning described the attacks as “an appalling act of terrorism”, telling News From Abroad that the co-ordinated blasts “bore all the hallmarks of international terrorism”. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will make a full statement in the Commons today at midday.