France temporarily closes missions in Turkey over threat

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - France has canceled French National Day receptions in Turkey and temporarily closed down diplomatic missions for security reasons.

The French Consul in Istanbul, Muriel Domenach, said Wednesday on Twitter that there would be no July 14 Bastille Day celebrations at French diplomatic missions in the cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. She did not specify the nature of the threat but said officials were in contact with the Turkish authorities.

The consulate, meanwhile, said the three diplomatic missions would be closed until further notice.

Turkey has been rocked by a series of suicide bomb attacks in the past year, including a triple bomb-and-gunfire attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that killed 44 people last month. Turkish authorities say that attack was carried out by militants of the Islamic State group.