Rob & Juls

Just heard on radio 5 that there was a bomb blast at a Market in Izmir this morning. The bomber carried it on a cycle, many injuried but the true extent is not known yet.

Martyn

Link removed, incorrect information, sorry.

maggie

ow no here we go again we were warned this would happen,please god let everyone be safe when going on holiday etc this year.my heart goes out to everyone hurt in this blast maggie

lolly

Hi,
That link for bbc news is for JULy 2005.

KayaKoyuOldBoy

Are you sure you HEARD it ?

suzyq

I have just seen the article about it on Reuters web page, 12 people injured 2 seriously.

Rob & Juls

From CNN
A bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded Saturday morning in a market in the port city of Izmir in Turkey's Bornova district, wounding 12 people -- two seriously, Turkey's state-run news agency Anatolia said.

Information on who might be behind the blast was not immediately available.

brownbear

Twelve people injured at bicycle bomb attack in Turkey

05/12/2007
The blast came one day before a planned anti-government rally in Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, amid rising political tensions ahead of a July general election.

A bicycle bomb detonated in a market in the Turkish port of Izmir on Saturday, injuring 12 people, two of them seriously, police said.

The blast came one day before a planned anti-government rally in Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, amid rising political tensions ahead of a July general election. "The bomb exploded on a bicycle... The injured are being treated at two local hospitals," a police spokesman told Reuters.

The explosion occurred early in the morning when there were relatively few people in the area, the spokesman said. Most of the injured were tradespeople working at the market, in the Bornova district of the city.

A range of militant groups operate in Turkey, including Kurdish separatists, radical Islamists and far-left activists. Kurdish militants have in the past carried out small attacks in the Izmir area, which is home to a large Kurdish population and also a major port of entry for European tourists visiting Turkey's Aegean coast.

The Kurdish militants have pledged in the past to disrupt Turkey's highly lucrative tourist industry.

Political tensions are running especially high in Turkey after the Islamist-rooted government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan clashed with the country's secular elite, including army generals, over a presidential election in parliament.

Public rallies, a court ruling and a strong statement from the army General Staff forced the government to withdraw its presidential candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, an ex-Islamist, and call an early parliamentary election for July.

Sunday's rally, which organisers say could draw up to two million people, is aimed at putting further pressure on Erdogan's government as Turkey gears up for the election. Secularist opponents of the government say Erdogan and Gul want to undermine Turkey's strict separation of state and religion. They strongly deny the claim.

brownbear

--- just in addition

if you want the most current use go to news.google.com and just search on say "turkey" to find the latest news items - google accesses hundreds if news sites