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Separatists warn tourists

Nick Birch and Steven Morris—© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

Marmaris/London: A separatist group on Monday warned tourists to stay away from Turkey after a wave of bomb blasts killed three persons and injured dozens, including 10 Britons. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons claimed responsibility for four of the five bombs and warned on its website: ``Turkey is not a safe country; tourists should not come to Turkey.''

Three persons were killed and 50 injured in the most serious of the blasts, which wreaked havoc in the southern city of Antalya on Monday afternoon.

Earlier in the day 10 Britons, including four children, were hurt when a bomb exploded on a bus in the popular south-western coastal resort of Marmaris, and on Sunday evening there was an explosion in Istanbul.

The bombings are a blow to the Turkish tourist industry, which is worth £10 billion a year. Almost 2 million Britons visit the country annually and there are currently thousands in the area around Marmaris.

Beaches in the resort were quieter than usual on Monday as many people decided to stay in their hotels, and some began making plans to abort their holiday. The series of blasts began on Sunday evening when a bomb exploded near a Government building in an Istanbul suburb. Six persons were hurt, one of them critically.

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