Erdogan: Turkey will not be cowed by the attacks

At a memorial service for two policemen killed in the Istanbul attacks, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the bombers would be damned in this world and the next.

Mr Erdogan's speech came as rallies were held protest at the bombings in Istanbul and other Turkish cities.

Several thousand gathered near the UK consulate, scene of one of the blasts.

Elsewhere in Istanbul, a remembrance service for victims of last Saturday's attacks on two synagogues was cancelled at the last minute for security reasons.

Bombs will not stop us living freely Prime Minister Erdogan

At least 23 people died after the synagogues were bombed.

Mr Erdogan said police and security forces had made rapid progress in their investigations.

"Citizens with links abroad have carried out the attacks," he said.

Media criticised

But he vowed that police would hunt down their accomplices and that the country would not be cowed by the attacks.

"Bombs will not stop us living freely," he said.

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Mr Erdogan added, however, that some newspaper and television reports of the attacks may have hindered investigations by leaking information on the identity of suspects.

The daily Hurriyet newspaper reported on Saturday that 18 people had been detained on Thursday, just hours after the attacks.

Quoting police sources, the newspaper also identified the bombers of Thursday's attacks, as Azad Ekinci, 27, and Feridu Ugurlu, both Turkish nationals.

Earlier this week, Turkish media named both Mr Ekinci and Mr Ugurlu as accomplices in the bombing of two synagogues last Saturday.

Anger

Trade unionists and non-governmental groups had called on people to demonstrate on Saturday to express their grief and disgust at the attacks, whose victims included Muslims, Jews and Christians.

A broad cross-section of people demonstrated, including trade unionists, Kurds and left-wingers, some carrying white flowers.

Several speeches were also made condemning US and British policies in Iraq.

WHO ARE AL-MASRI BRIGADES? Named after Bin Laden's brother-in-law Claimed responsibility for attack on UN in Iraq Also said they were behind blasts in Kenya and Turkey Statements impossible to verify, some commentators sceptical Al-Qaeda timeline

The sense of shock on the streets of Istanbul is palpable, the BBC's Jonny Dymond says.

He says there is anger too, much of it directed at the bombers who took so many lives and injured so many more, but some of it directed at the West, held responsible by some for the attacks.

An unconfirmed report said a group linked to al-Qaeda, calling itself Abu Hafz al-Masri Brigades, had issued a statement claiming responsibility for the blasts.

A man had earlier called the semi-official Anatolia news agency in Turkey to say al-Qaeda and the Turkish Islamic militant group IBDA-C had jointly carried out the attacks.