Five consulates in Istanbul have received letters containing a suspicious powder. The five consulates, that includes Belgium’s, are part of the coalition against IS. On Saturday, the Turkish health ministry announced that 24 people were under medical observation following the incidents.
Only one person, who worked for the Canadian consulate was directly exposed to the substance after she had opened the envelop. The powder is analysed by experts in chemical and bacteriological risks, Turkish authorities announced and the results will be known on Monday.
The consulates have been briefly closed to the public and security teams have intervened at the scenes.
This alert comes after several Western countries have reinforced their security measures against potential threats emanating from jihadist groups linked to the Islamic State (IS), which continues to besiege the Kurdish town Kobane in Syria just next to the Turkish border.
(Source: Belga)
