US branded hotels could be target of attack in south Turkey, warns consulate

The United States on Monday warned its citizens of a potential security threat targeting US-branded hotels in southern Turkey, a US consulate said in a statement. The consulate in southern Adana province said on its website that “it has obtained specific and credible threats of potential terrorist activity targeting US-branded hotels in Adana.” [caption id=“attachment_3023564” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image.[/caption] It advised US citizens in Adana “to exercise caution when patronizing these establishments.” Adana hosts Incirlik air base — used by the US-led coalition for air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria. The US embassy last week warned of the risk of a terror attack in another Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border on businesses frequented by Westerners, including the popular coffee chain Starbucks. Turkey has been the target of a string of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants or the IS group. A suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep last month killed 57 people, 34 of them children, and was blamed by Turkish authorities on IS jihadists.