Istanbul Taksim November 15. 2003 Turkey
Near-simultaneous car bombs exploded outside two Istanbul synagogues filled
with worshippers Saturday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than
300. The government said the attack had international links, raising suspicions
that the al-Qaida terror network was involved.
One blast tore apart the facade of Neve Shalom — Istanbul's biggest synagogue
and the symbolic center of the 25,000-member Jewish community in this Muslim
nation — just as hundreds of people inside were celebrating a boy's bar
mitzvah. Three miles away in an affluent neighborhood, the other blast hit
the Beth Israel synagogue, where some 300 people were marking the completion
of a remodeled religious school. Six Jews were killed at Beth Israel and many
injured, including Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva and his son. Fourteen Muslims were
also killed — including two security guards at Beth Israel and one at
Neve Shalom.
The bombings targeted a secular-minded nation that is the sole Muslim member
of NATO and a close ally of the United States, at one point considering sending
troops to help in the occupation of neighboring Iraq . Turkey also has strong
military and economic ties with Israel.
The Islamic Great Eastern Raiders-Front, or IBDA-C: The group advocates Islamic
rule in this predominantly Muslim but officially secular country and is allegedly
backed by Iran. It has claimed responsibility for Saturday's truck bombings
outside two Istanbul synagogues, but Turkish authorities dispute the claim.
Active since the mid-1970's, it has become increasingly violent in the last
decade and has an estimated 600 followers. The group has staged attacks on
left-wing and Christian targets. Its leader, Salih Izzet Erdis, also known
as Salih Mirzabeyoglu, was captured in 1998.
