Turkey was rocked by several bomb attacks in November, killing scores and wounding hundreds. Suicide bombers hit the Istambul headquarters of the London-based bank HSBC and the British consulate, killing at last 30, including British consul general Roger Short, and wounding more than 450 people. Many of the victims were Turkish citizens.

Days earlier, bombs exploded outside two Istanbul synagogues on Nov. 15, in a clearly coordinated suicide attack on the Jewish community in Turkey. The attacks came during Sabbath prayers. Twenty-five people died, including the bombers, and around 300 people were injured. Most of the victims were Muslim passers-by.

Police say the massive, homemade bombs were placed in trucks outside the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Galata, and Beth Israel Synagogue five kilometers away in the Sisli District.

Two bombers and two suspected associates have been identified in media reports as Turkish citizens from Bingol, in eastern Turkey, believed to be affiliated with a little known extremist group called "Allegiance to the Imams." Three of the men received military training in Afghanistan during Taliban rule, and two had spent time in Iran. The police investigation has focused on the four, and DNA tests appeared to have proved the identity of the bombers.

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks in an e-mail sent to an Arabic-language newspaper in London, al-Quds al-Arabi. The statement, claiming to be from a group called Brigades of the Martyr Abu Hafs al-Masri, also threatened more car bomb attacks in Britain, Italy, Australia and Japan. Abu Hafs al-Masri was a militant killed during the US bombing of Taliban positions in Afghanistan in November 2001.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, along with world leaders, including many from the Middle East, fiercely condemned the attacks. Parallels were also drawn with recent suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and with attacks on Jewish targets in Tunisia and Morocco.