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CNN Live At Daybreak

Word Several Arrests Made in Connection with Deadly Bomb Attacks

Aired November 21, 2003 - 05:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, in Turkey, there is word that several arrests have been made in connection with the deadly bomb attacks in Istanbul.
CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Istanbul with the latest from there -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the U.K. foreign minister -- Abdullah Gul, just held a press conference not so long ago with his U.K. counterpart, Jack Straw, who has come here to assess the damage of those two blasts on Thursday.

Now, what Abdullah Gul said was that there have been some arrests. In that press conference he was asked whether there were seven arrests. There have been reports of that. He said there have been some arrests. And, also, from Saturday's bombings -- there were two bombings here in Istanbul at two synagogues on Saturday -- he said that within 48 hours they had identified the suicide bombers and he implied that they should be able to identify who is responsible for this within maybe the same time frame this time around.

So he did sound a very positive note that the investigations were going well. There are police and forensics experts at the moment going through with a fine tooth comb all the bits of rubble, both here at the British consulate behind me and the HSBC building in the middle of the financial district.

Now, in that press conference, Jack Straw passed on his condolences and condemnation of the attacks. He also said that if it is an attack on Turkey, it is an attack on the whole world. He said that it's a global problem that must be dealt with in a global way and that these atrocities will mean that international communities will work even more together to try and have some sort of cooperation to fight against this terrorism -- Carol.

LIN: Paula, there have been more predictions, or at least some intelligence, indicating there might be more terror attacks.

Have you seen a change in security around town?

HANCOCKS: To be honest, I really haven't seen a change at all. The reaction on the street is quite remarkable. Everyone is very defiant. The newspapers I've been reading this morning have titles such as "They Will Not Defeat Us," one saying, with a headline of "Al Murderer," playing on the words of al Qaeda. So it really is a very defiant attitude at the moment. I've spoken to quite a few businesses around about the British consulate. They've had their windows blown out, but they are still open for business and they say they will continue to be open for business because things do go on as normal and they are determined not to let the terrorists get the better of them.

LIN: Well, it certainly looks like morning traffic or daytime traffic behind you is well under way. So people out on the streets.

Paul Hancocks reporting live from Istanbul.

Well, for the in depth coverage of the bombings in Turkey, all you have to do is log on our Web site at cnn.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Attacks>


Aired November 21, 2003 - 05:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, in Turkey, there is word that several arrests have been made in connection with the deadly bomb attacks in Istanbul.
CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Istanbul with the latest from there -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the U.K. foreign minister -- Abdullah Gul, just held a press conference not so long ago with his U.K. counterpart, Jack Straw, who has come here to assess the damage of those two blasts on Thursday.

Now, what Abdullah Gul said was that there have been some arrests. In that press conference he was asked whether there were seven arrests. There have been reports of that. He said there have been some arrests. And, also, from Saturday's bombings -- there were two bombings here in Istanbul at two synagogues on Saturday -- he said that within 48 hours they had identified the suicide bombers and he implied that they should be able to identify who is responsible for this within maybe the same time frame this time around.

So he did sound a very positive note that the investigations were going well. There are police and forensics experts at the moment going through with a fine tooth comb all the bits of rubble, both here at the British consulate behind me and the HSBC building in the middle of the financial district.

Now, in that press conference, Jack Straw passed on his condolences and condemnation of the attacks. He also said that if it is an attack on Turkey, it is an attack on the whole world. He said that it's a global problem that must be dealt with in a global way and that these atrocities will mean that international communities will work even more together to try and have some sort of cooperation to fight against this terrorism -- Carol.

LIN: Paula, there have been more predictions, or at least some intelligence, indicating there might be more terror attacks.

Have you seen a change in security around town?

HANCOCKS: To be honest, I really haven't seen a change at all. The reaction on the street is quite remarkable. Everyone is very defiant. The newspapers I've been reading this morning have titles such as "They Will Not Defeat Us," one saying, with a headline of "Al Murderer," playing on the words of al Qaeda. So it really is a very defiant attitude at the moment. I've spoken to quite a few businesses around about the British consulate. They've had their windows blown out, but they are still open for business and they say they will continue to be open for business because things do go on as normal and they are determined not to let the terrorists get the better of them.

LIN: Well, it certainly looks like morning traffic or daytime traffic behind you is well under way. So people out on the streets.

Paul Hancocks reporting live from Istanbul.

Well, for the in depth coverage of the bombings in Turkey, all you have to do is log on our Web site at cnn.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Attacks>