Suicide bombing in Kusadasi, Turkey

July 16, 2005

A detonated herself Saturday aboard a minibus heading to Ladies beach in, an  resort town, killing at least four people, private NTV television said. Three of the victims were foreign tourists, a doctor who treated the casualties said.

Three foreign tourists were among the dead and five foreign tourists were critically injured in the explosion, a doctor at Kuşadasi State Hospital said. He spoke on condition of anonymity. The five injured tourists were transferred to Izmir for treatment, the doctor added. According to some sources, there are five injured British tourists.

NTV television said a female suicide bomber carried out the attack on the bus, which was heading to a nearby beach. Kurdish rebels in the past have used female suicide bombers.

The explosion ripped off the roof of the white minibus.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but rebels have recently carried out bomb attacks in Aegean resort towns.

Earlier this month, a bomb hidden in a soda can wounded 21 people, including three foreign tourists, in the Aegean coastal town of Çeşme. On April 30, a bomb in a killed a police officer and left four others wounded in Kuşadasi.

A Kurdish group that called itself the  Organization or TAK claimed credit for both attacks and vowed to maintain attacks against tourist areas.