ياشاسين آذربايجان - Long live Azerbaijan

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Turkey’s main opposition party leader urged Tuesday people to give a big reaction to the twin bombings that killed 17 people in a mostly residential neighborhood of Istanbul, as the Turkish prime minister renewed his commitment in the fight against terrorism. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani telephoned on Tuesday Turkish President Abdullah Gul and condemned the attack.

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Turkey’s main opposition party leader urged Tuesday people to give a big reaction to the twin bombings that killed 17 people in a mostly residential neighborhood of Istanbul, as the Turkish prime minister renewed his commitment in the fight against terrorism. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani telephoned on Tuesday Turkish President Abdullah Gul and condemned the attack.

“The Turkish people should not let terror be perceived as usual. If it becomes usual, this very bad,” told Deniz Baykal, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader, who called for a mass rally to protest the bombings on Monday, at his party group meeting.

His appeal reflects national outrage over Sunday’s twin bombings, which Turkish officials suspected was carried out by the outlawed PKK that has undertaken similar attacks in the past.

Two bombs exploded minutes apart in a packed Istanbul square Sunday night, killing 17, five of them children, and injuring more than 150 in the deadliest attack against civilians in Turkey in almost five years.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan also told Turkish people on Tuesday to unite in the face of terrorism.

“This country responds to terrorism as one heart and one voice. Whoever thinks that Turkey could be dragged to instability through terrorism, murder and violence, it should be known that they will never be able to achieve that,” he told a meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) at parliament.

“These heinous designs and plans will fail in their attempt to wound the unified soul of our nation,” the Anatolian Agency quoted Erdogan as saying.

IRAQI PRESIDENT’S CONDEMNATION

Talabani telephoned Gul and condemned the attack in Istanbul, the Turkish president’s press office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Iraqi president offered his condolences to Gul and the families of victims, the statement said, adding Talabani also informed Gul about Monday’s suicide bombing at a protest rally in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk that killed 23 Iraqis.

After the explosion in Kirkuk, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkmen political party. Clashes broke out between protesters and guards protecting the office.

The Iraqi President condemned the attack on Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) and said all ethnic groups in Kirkuk should learn to live together in peace, it added.

The statement said Gul thanked Talabani and offered his condolences over the deaths of Iraqis killed in the suicide bombing in Kirkuk.

Gul said the terrorist attack aimed to stir up the Iraqi people and underscored the importance of utmost attention on the matter, the statement added.hurriyet

, Voice of a Nation

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