ISTANBUL, 11 August 2004 — A previously unknown Kurdish group claimed responsibility for pre-dawn bomb attacks yesterday against two hotels in Istanbul tourist districts that killed two people and injured 11 others.
An Al-Qaeda-linked group also claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks in a statement posted on a website, but Turkish authorities cast doubt on that claim, saying Kurdish separatists were suspected.
Bombs rocked the two Istanbul hotels, inexpensive lodging popular among foreign tourists, before dawn yesterday. Two other explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas plant on the outskirts of the city caused damage but no injuries, authorities said.
An Iranian and a Turk were killed in the hotel explosions. The injured included four Spanish tourists, two Dutch tourists, a Ukrainian and two Chinese tourists, Turkish and Spanish authorities said.
The Mezopotamya News Agency, which often reports rebel statements, said it received a telephone call from an individual claiming responsibility for the attacks in the name of the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Organization — a previously unknown Kurdish group.
It said the group carried out the attacks because of recent Turkish military operations against the rebels. No other details were immediately available. The Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades, named for an Al-Qaeda commander killed in Afghanistan, also claimed responsibility earlier, saying the attacks were the first of a “wave of operations” in European countries and that worse was to come.
“Istanbul is the opening for the bloody war we promised the Europeans,” said the statement posted on a website known for publishing the messages of militant groups.
It was not possible to check the authenticity of the claims. Experts have questioned the credibility of the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades.
