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US order to evacuate dependents worries Turks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems indifferent to Western countries' warnings about the increased likelihood of terror attacks in Turkey, but citizens there are taking note.

A protester holds a Turkish flag under a sign of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, during a demonstration against the U.S. policy over northern Iraq as well as the killing of Turkish soldiers by PKK Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey, October 26, 2007. Turkish helicopters ferried more troops to the border with Iraq on Friday as diplomatic efforts got under way in Ankara to avert a major offensive against Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq.    REUTERS/Fatih Saribas  (TURKEY) - RTR1VCO0
A protester holds a Turkish flag under a sign for the US Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 26, 2007. — REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

The US State Department has ordered the families of its consulate staff in Istanbul to leave the country. Now, Turks fear for the worst.

In an Oct. 29 order, the US government cited the increasing possibility of terror attacks against US citizens in Istanbul. The State Department has frequently issued short-term travel alerts to its citizens in Turkey in the past two years, but those typically involved visits to southeast Turkey and near the Syrian border. The new order applies specifically to diplomatic families in Istanbul.

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