'Suicide blast' kills British tourist

Another 14 travellers were injured in the attack, including five from the UK, after a bomb was detonated on a minibus in the Turkish resort of Kusadasi.

The attack came just six days after a bombing in the nearby Turkish resort of Cesme, in which two people died and one Briton was injured. It is the second bombing this year in Kusadasi and is the 10th attack in Turkey this year, coming in spite of tough security around the country's tourist areas.

No organisation has yet been linked to the blast, which could have been carried out by either Islamist terrorists or bombers linked to Kurdish rebels.

The blast happened shortly before 11am local time. A female suicide bomber is believed to have boarded a minibus carrying a mixture of local and overseas passengers. While some local sources have claimed that the woman was a suicide bomber, others have suggested that the minibus may have been destroyed by a parcel bomb placed under a female passenger's seat.

The bomb in Kusadasi, which close to the ancient ruins of Ephesus, tore off the bus's roof and sides. Body parts were scattered on the road next to the bus in the town centre.

One Briton, a woman who has not been named, was killed and five British tourists were hurt, three seriously. One of the injured was a 16-year-old boy.

Also among the dead were a young Irish female student and two Turks, and nine more were injured, some of whom were said to be in critical condition.

There are a number of organisations who could have carried out the Kusadasi attack. The most likely suspects is the breakaway guerrilla organisation the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Organisation or TAK, who have vowed to target tourists and resorts in an effort to damage the Turkish economy. Other possible culprits include al-Qaeda and the main Kurdish rebel movement, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK. It has been claimed that Kurdish groups have sent around 70 suicide bombers to Turkey's cities.

One strong indication linking the attack to either Kurdish faction is the fact that the explosives used in the attack were the powerful C-4 plastic explosives, a type known to be in the possession of Kurdish rebels.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "There have been a number of fatalities and injuries. Our senior honorary consul in Izmir is on the way to the hospital. Consular staff are at the scene."

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said: "We condemn this repugnant act, which has ruined the lives of so many innocent people. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families. As always, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Turkey, in sympathy and in our refusal to allow terrorists to destroy our values and liberty."

Tour operator Thomas Cook confirmed two of those killed in the attack, and the five Britons injured, were their customers.

Spokeswoman Faith Wooton said: "Following an explosion in Kusadasi this morning, Thomas Cook UK & Ireland can, with deepest regret, confirm two fatalities.

"Both guests were passengers on the bus that exploded. One guest was travelling with Thomas Cook Tour Operations, and the other with [our] subsidiary company, Sunworld Ireland. Both were female.

"Five further Thomas Cook customers have been injured and are being cared for in hospital."

A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said Kusadasi was a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

He estimated that the number of Britons in the region would be in the "high hundreds or low thousands".

Turkey is one of the favourite tourist destinations for Britons, with 1.5 million travelling there each year, according to the ABTA.

Earlier this month, a bomb hidden in a drinks can wounded 21, including three foreign tourists - one of them British - in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme. On April 30, a bomb in a cassette player killed a police officer and left four others wounded in Kusadasi.

At the time, TAK claimed credit for both attacks and vowed to maintain attacks against tourist areas.

Kurdish rebels have carried out several suicide bomb attacks since 1996, when the group staged its first suicide bombing, killing six soldiers in the eastern city of Tunceli.

In 1999, two female suicide bombers carried out separate attacks injuring 27 people. The attacks, which targeted police stations, were to protest at the capture of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Since 1984, the Turkish military has been battling rebels of Ocalan's autonomy-seeking PKK, in the overwhelmingly Kurdish southeast, a conflict that has claimed some 37,000 lives. Fighting in the region tapered off after a rebel truce in 1999, which followed Ocalan's capture.

But there has been a surge in violence since June 1, 2004, when the rebels declared an end to their cease-fire, saying Turkey had not responded in kind.