ISTANBUL, Nov 20 (AFP) - The small British community living in Istanbul on Saturday paid tribute to the memory of dozens of people killed in suicide bomb attacks on the British consulate and British bank here a year ago.
Consul-general Roger Short and 15 others, including nine consulate staff, were killed when an explosives-packed car rammed into the building on November 20, 2003.
A second attack just minutes later in the nearby business district targeted a branch of the British bank HSBC killing 17 people, including three bank employees.
The twin attacks came just five days after suicide bombings against two Istanbul synagogues in which 25 people were killed and hundreds wounded.
More than 60 people including four suicide bombers were killed in the wave of attacks -- blamed on a Turkish cell of the Al-Qaeda terror network -- and 750 were wounded.
A minute's silence was observed outside the consulate at the rain-soaked ceremony attended by the new consul-general Barbara Hay and traders from the areas whose buinesses were damaged, the Anatolia press agency reported.
"I was very moved. It was as if I were reliving the tragedy," said Ilyas Ekemkci, who has run a business in the area for 34 years.
A second private ceremony was held inside the consulate, when another minute of silence was observed.
The traders were also to organise a prayer for the victims in a nearby mosque during the day, the agency said.
Some 69 people are currently on trial chargd with involvement in the attacks and of being members of the Turkish branch of Al-Qaeda. The hearing resumes on Monday.
11/20/2004 12:38 GMT - AFP