Four explosions occurred in four cities, including Ankara, the capital, and Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey, on Tuesday night, semi-official Anatolia News Agency reported.  

In Ankara, an explosion occurred at 21:15 PM local time (1815 GMT) between Turkish American Association (TAA) building and Turkish Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry Organization Directorate General Tuesday. There were no casualties reported.

Security forces have closed the traffic and launched an investigation into the explosion. Simultaneously, in southern city of Adana, another bomb exploded near the branch of HSBC bank, shattering windows of nearby houses and vehicles.

Also on Tuesday night, another resonant bomb exploded outside the HSBC branch in Kadikoy district in Istanbul, causing financial damage, said the report.

It said that a bomb left in front of the HSBC Bank branch in Alsancak district in Aegean city of Izmir exploded the same day, injuring a security official of the bank in the leg. Windows of the bank branch were shattered and garden wall was destroyed by the explosion, added the report. Witnesses said they saw a 40-year-old man riding a blue bicycle in front of the bank shortly before the explosion. Meanwhile, experts detonated a suitcase that was left in front of another branch of the same bank in Ziverbey District. Experts said there could be a resonant bomb in the briefcase. These are by far the four most devastating blasts since last November when two Jewish synagogues, the British consulate and a local branch of the London-based HSBC bank in Istanbul were targeted by bombs, which killed more than 60 people.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2004)