We'll turn Turkey into hell, say Kurdish rebels

Published on Wednesday 30 August 2006 00:30

A KURDISH rebel group threatened yesterday to turn Turkey "into hell", following a two-day bombing spree which killed three people and wounded dozens of others at tourist resorts.

On Sunday, ten Britons and 11 Turks were injured in a blast in the Aegean coastal resort of Marmaris. On Monday a bomb killed three people and injured at least 20 in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, and earlier six were hurt in a blast in the suburb of Bagcilar in the European side of Istanbul.

The Kurdish Liberation Hawks (TAK) said it was responsible for the attacks. "We vow to turn the monstrous Turkish Republic into hell ... with our warriors who have pledged revenge," TAK said on its website.

TAK, a separatist group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, has warned tourists to stay out of European Union aspirant Turkey.

Security has been stepped up at key tourist destinations, and no major cancellations have been reported.

Police have launched a hunt for two people suspected of planting the bomb in Antalya, the newspaper Milliyet said yesterday, although police did not confirm the report.

The government has remained silent and the Turkish media has largely ignored the attacks.