Irish urged to exercise caution in travel to Turkey

The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged travellers to Turkey to exercise the "utmost vigilance and caution" after three people…

The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged travellers to Turkey to exercise the "utmost vigilance and caution" after three people died in a series of explosions today.

Three people have died and dozens were injured in the explosions in the Aegean coastal resorts of Marmaris and Antalya. The Department said there have been no reports of Irish citizens among the injured.

On its website, the Department said the threat from terrorism in Turkey remains high and the frequency of attacks by terrorist groups has increased in the last year.

"Further attacks, including in tourist areas, could well occur," it warned.

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"Since 28 March 2006, demonstrations, some of which have been violent with stones and Molotov cocktails being thrown and property being set alight or destroyed, have resulted in 12 deaths and many more injuries in the neighbouring provinces of Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin and Sanliurfa in South East Turkey."

On April 2nd, three people died and two were injured in Istanbul when a bus was attacked and set alight by masked individuals. Earlier, a bomb exploded in the city, killing one person and injuring at least ten.

And on July 16th, an explosion on a minibus in the western resort of Kusadasi killed five people including one Irish citizen. Kusadasi is one of the most popular Turkish resorts with Irish holidaymakers.

The Department said: "Such attacks are, by their nature, random and indiscriminate and cannot be predicted in advance. Irish citizens should take this into account in considering travel to Turkey.

"Those who travel there are reminded of the need to exercise the utmost vigilance and caution, particularly in public places that are frequented by foreigners."