A commemoration ceremony was held on Friday, the 12th anniversary of the terror attacks in Istanbul that killed Consul-General Roger Short and 29 others. British Consulate staff and citizens attended the ceremony at the consulate building in the city. Consul-General Leigh Turner left a wreath at the site of the bombing where participants observed a one minute's silence. Speaking at the ceremony, Turner said their thoughts were with the families and friends of the victims at a time of terror attacks in Turkey, France and other countries. Two car bombs exploded outside the offices of the HSBC bank and the British Consulate on Nov. 20, 2003, killing 30 and wounding 400 others, five days after two car bombs slammed into the Beth Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues in the city, killing 37 people. The attacks were blamed on al-Qaida-linked terrorists.