http://www.clarionproject.org/news/us-tells-families-consulate-staff-istanbul-leave
US Tells Families of Consulate Staff in Istanbul to Leave Not for the first time, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for Turkey in light of growing fears of terrorism in the country. Sun, October 30, 2016 The American consulate in Istanbul. (Photo © Burak Kara / Getty Images) The United State issued a travel warning for Turkey on October 29, including ordering families of consulate staff in Istanbul to leave. “The Department of State made this decision based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing aggressive efforts to attack U.S. citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent,” read a State Department release. Terror attacks are frequent in Turkey in the restive east where Kurdish fighters battle the army and where ISIS recruits attempt to enter Syria but also in the major cities and first among them Istanbul. Terrorists, including a woman, opened fire outside the consulate in August 2015: Back in 2008, three terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in the city, killing three police officers before losing their own lives. It was thought al-Qaeda may have been behind that attack but never proved. AQ claimed the 2003 attack against the British consulate in Istanbul and an HSBC bank, killing 30 and wounding 400. The State Department warning this weekend suggested “U.S. citizens should avoid travel to southeast Turkey and carefully consider the risks of travel to and throughout the country.”
