World News 21-11-2003 Turkey`s 9/11 who: Foreign Secretary Jack Straw what: Flies out to scene of terrorist atrocity as at least 27 die in attack on British interests where: Istanbul when: Yesterday snippet: "Tony Blair and President Bush vowed to crush terror yesterday after al-Qaeda bombers blitzed British targets in Istanbul," reports The Mirror today. "At least 27 people were killed and 450 hurt in suicide attacks on the British consulate and the HSBC HQ. Consul General Roger Short, 58, and his personal assistant Lisa Hallworth, 38, were among the dead." "Two trucks crashed through barriers at the British consulate and rammed into the HSBC headquarters," says The Independent. "It was the first direct attack by al-Qa`ida suspects on British interests since the war in Iraq. The bombings reduced parts of central Istanbul to rubble and brought the city of 14 million to a standstill." "Looking shocked by the scale of the devastation, Tony Blair, at a joint press conference with the US president, said he would not flinch in the face of the terrorist threat," says The Guardian. "We stand absolutely firm until this job is done - done in Iraq, done elsewhere in the world," says the prime minister. Mr Bush adds that all "free nations", including Britain and the USA, remain "united in our determination to fight and defeat this evil". Foreign secretary Jack Straw immediately flew to the scene. The Scotsman`s Mike Theodoulou says that the British consul general, who was killed instantly in the blast, was "as kind and wise as he was jolly and sociable", but most of the newspapers look to 34 year-old Graham Carter for the "human interest" angle on the atrocity. He had gone to the consulate with his girlfriend Hulya Donmez yesterday morning to apply for a visa so she could come to Britain and marry him. "But seconds after they got through security, a huge explosion tore the building apart, killing her instantly," says The Sun. "Badly injured Graham staggered from the rubble and stared unseeing into a TV camera, his face a mass of blood and cuts..." [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!