The Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said 2 car

 bomb attacks which killed at least 20 people

 near 2 synagogues in Istanbul were aimed

 at the stability of Turkey.

 Mr. Erdogan cut short of a visit to northern Cyprus to return home.

 His government said there was an international

 dimension to the bombings.

 Our correspondent James Runnels reports from the scene 

of one of the explosions.

James Runnels：There have been attacks in this city before,

 but nothing on this scale for many years. 

Tonight the small Jewish community here in Istanbul

 is in mourning and in shock. 

Its members say they've always had good relations

 with the country's Muslim majority.

 And beyond this, Turkey and Israel are close allies.

 The Israeli ambassador to Turkey Pinhas Avivta has

 come here to the scene of one of the attacks 

to say that the countries will continue to be good friends.

 Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom

 is to fly here on Sunday morning.

 A small Turkish Islamic group says that it carried 

out the attacks. But many here suspect the coordination, 

there’s the hallmark of al-Qaeda.