At least 27 people were killed and nearly five-hundred wounded in Istanbul Thursday when bomb-laden trucks slammed into the British Consulate and a branch of a London-based HSBC bank.

Istanbul was shaken by the two nearly simultaneous bomb attacks, which have been called the worst terrorist attacks in Turkey's history. Among the victims was British Consul-General Roger Short.
U.S. and Turkish officials suspect that the bomb attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaida or a local Islamic terrorist organization, citing that the attacks occurred at a time when U.S. President George W. Bush is engaged in a state visit to London.
The attacks come just five days after suicide bombers attacked two synagogues in the Turkish city, which killed at least 26 people and wounded two-hundred more.