Consul widow mourns Istanbul dead

The attacks claimed the lives of 27 people

The widow of the consul general killed in the Istanbul suicide bombings says she mourns all 27 people who died.

"It is not only us suffering a personal loss, but there are so many other families like us that are grieving", Victoria Short said.

Her husband Roger was one of a number of Britons among those killed in blasts that targeted the city's British consulate and the HSBC bank HQ.

Police have warned there could be another attack within the UK.

Combing for clues

The Istanbul blasts killed four Britons, the city's governor said, but the Foreign Office has only confirmed three deaths - Mr Short, his personal assistant Lisa Hallworth, 38, and 41-year-old Nanette Clarke, the latter also known as Nanette Elizabeth Kurma.

Ms Clarke moved to Istanbul eight years ago after marrying a Turk, Feza Kurma. She leaves three grown-up children from a previous marriage.

Sixteen members of London's anti-terrorist police branch are in Istanbul, combing for clues in the bombed consulate's wreckage.

And on Friday evening, Scotland Yard made an appeal for information from people who had returned to the UK from Turkey.

Officers want to speak to anyone who believes they may have seen anything suspicious, particularly in the vicinity of either the consulate or the HSBC building.

They also want to hear from anyone who took video footage or photographs in either area.

Consul general Roger Short and his assistant were among the dead

In Turkey, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has met Mrs Short and the couple's elder daughter.

At a news conference in Istanbul, Mr Straw said there had to be more co-operation in order to fight the global threat of terrorism, calling Thursday's blasts an attack on civilisation.

Britons have been urged to avoid travelling to major Turkish cities following the attacks.

"We have information to suggest that further attacks may be attempted," said the Foreign Office website.

Mr Straw defended the level of security at the British consulate, saying: "Whatever precautions are taken to deal with the terrorist threat, it will always be possible for some terrorists to get through."

TURKEY BOMBINGS

The UK's Turkish community reacts to the Istanbul attacks

In pictures

He told the news conference Mr Short's widow and elder daughter "are both showing very great courage and fortitude in the face of the terrible tragedy that has happened to them".

The prime minister's official spokesman said Tony Blair had sent his condolences to the family of Mr Short, "a dedicated diplomat who'd served his country with honour, dignity and distinction".

We've been living for a number of years without terrorism, but now it seems to have returned Paul Sheridan Istanbul ex-pat Britons reel from bomb blasts

The former cabinet minister Clare Short has blamed the "mishandling" of the Iraqi war for the terror attacks.

In an interview for GMTV's Sunday Programme, she said "bad leadership" and "terrible errors" by Mr Blair and President Bush had acted as a recruiting sergeant for terrorist groups.

Consulate official Hajma Bouakaze-Khan, 36, from Newcastle, said: "There was this big blast. Glass was flying everywhere - there was a great cloud of dust - and this deafening blast. We dived under our desks for cover.

"You just think, what's happened? The world is suddenly turned upside down," she told London's Evening Standard.

Click below to see a satellite image of the British Consulate

Enlarge Image

Chris Brown of the British Council in Istanbul - which is based one mile from the consulate building - said a number of "advisory notes" had been issued in the last month over security issues.

"But as time passes it is sometimes difficult to maintain the highest levels of security if you are going to carry on doing business," he told BBC Breakfast.

A man who called a Turkish news agency said al-Qaeda and the Turkish Islamic militant group IBDA-C had jointly carried out the attacks.

UK security services have been on heightened alert since last weekend, following intelligence that al-Qaeda supporters were planning an attack in the UK.

The Foreign Office issued the following number for people to call for information about those who may have been involved in the blasts: 020 7008 0000.

Scotland Yard want anyone who thinks they saw anything suspicious during their stay in Istanbul to contact the Anti-Terrorist Branch hotline on 0800 789 321.