Explosions Kill Two People And Injure Seven Others In Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Explosions occurred in two small hotels in Istanbul's Sultanahmet and Laleli districts early on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring seven others.
Sources told the A.A correspondent that simultaneous explosions hit the Holiday Hotel in Sultanahmet and the Hotel Pars in Laleli at about 01.40 local time.
According to the preliminary reports, two people were killed in the explosions at the Hotel Pars. One of them was identified as Mahdi Pooliki of Iran.
Meanwhile, seven people including Dutch, Chinese, Turkmen and Ukrainian tourists were injured in the explosions. They were rushed to nearby hospitals.
The injured people are identified as follows: David Ceborian and Eric Hoogerwent of the Netherlands, Cennet Babekova of Turkmenistan, Chen Pingzhou and Chen Zangming of the People Republic of China, Mandelena Wagecko of Ukraine and Behiye Kirkil of Turkey.
Police cordoned off the scenes of the explosions to search for all evidences.
Following investigating the scene of explosions, Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah told reporters, ''it appears to be a terrorist attack.''
(UK-AÖ) 10.08.2004