On November 20th two bombs exploded simultaneously in Istanbul, both hit British interests. The suicide attack took place towards the end of the morning on Thursday, 27 people died, amongst them Roger Short, the British Consul General, 400 were wounded in the area surrounding the partly destroyed British Consulate and HSBC Bank.
The Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front (IBDA-C), a Turkish organisation tied to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for these strikes, these took place as Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, was meeting George W. Bush in London.