US warns of ‘Starbucks attack risk’ in Turkey

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ISTANBUL, Sept 22, (Agencies): The United States has warned of the risk of a terror attack in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border on businesses frequented by Westerners, including the popular coffee chain Starbucks. The US embassy in Ankara said in a message to citizens that there are reports of a police investigation into a “terror cell” in Gaziantep, which in August was hit by a deadly suicide bombing on a wedding blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists. It said the information suggests the jihadists are “possibly targeting” shopping centres, Starbucks, the popular upscale Turkish restaurant chain Big Chef or other businesses frequented by Western customers. “US citizens in Gaziantep are advised to exercise caution when patronising these sorts of businesses and to avoid them if possible,” it said in the notice published late Wednesday.

A major city lying just 60 kms (37 miles) north of the Syrian border, Gaziantep has become a hub for Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country. The Turkish authorities have acknowledged that IS jihadists had built up a presence in the city with the aim of staging attacks. But the US embassy did not specify which group was suspected of planning to carry out the attacks. T

urkey has suffered a string of attacks in the last 12 months in Ankara, Istanbul and elsewhere blamed on Kurdish militants and IS. In June, 47 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, with authorities pointing the finger at IS. Fifty four people were killed in the Aug 20 suicide bombing on a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said was carried out by a child bomber acting on the orders of IS. Embassies are also on a high state of alert after a man wielding a knife tried to attack the Israeli embassy in Ankara on Wednesday, while the British embassy was closed last Friday for security reasons.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s labour ministry has so far sacked nearly 800 employees over links to a US-based cleric blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup in July, the minister said on Thursday. Around 100,000 people in the military, civil service, police and judiciary have been sacked or suspended following the July 15 coup attempt, when a group of rogue soldiers attempted to topple the government.

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