5 Western Consulates in Turkey Receive Suspicious Powder

Local Editor

Packets of an unidentified yellow powder were sent to five western consulates in Istanbul on Friday, officials said, prompting security alerts following two militant attacks in Canada recently this week.

Consulates of the United States, Canada, France, Germany and Belgium received suspicious packages, the officials said.

It was not immediately clear what the powder was and Turkish officials said results of tests on them were due on Monday.

Moreover, sixteen people were hospitalized as a precaution from three different embassies, including 10 from the Canadian consulate, the Turkish Ministry of Health said in a statement. A hospital treating the Canadians said the Consul General was among them.
German and Belgian consular staff were also being monitored in hospital, the Ministry of Health said.

Meanwhile, Canada's foreign affairs minister John Baird said in Ottawa that, "There was a package with some yellow powder, suspicious, that was sent to the Canadian mission in Istanbul, it was sent to a number of other foreign missions."

Canadian consulates and embassies overseas have been on heightened alert recently this week after two attacks in Canada.

"Out of an abundance of caution we've closed the mission until we can ensure the safety of all our employees," he added.

A US embassy spokesman confirmed the Consulate General had received a "suspicious" envelope containing a powder, but said it was dealt with according to security protocols and the consulate remained open.

Additionally, Istanbul's governor later confirmed the French consulate had also received a similar package.

Teams decontaminated the Canadian and Belgium consulates and were working on cleaning the German mission, AFAD spokesman Dogan Eskinat said. Other consulates and embassies were reviewing their security arrangements.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team