US asks citizens to avoid Starbucks, others in Turkish city

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The United States has warned its citizens to avoid Starbucks coffee shops and other businesses catering to Westerners in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria.

In a security warning sent to U.S. citizens Thursday, the U.S. Embassy said Turkish police were investigating a "terror cell" in Gaziantep that could be targeting "shopping centers, Starbucks, Big Chef Restaurants" and other businesses in the city.

The warning did not specify the organization that is under investigation.

Turkey has suffered a series of bombings by Islamic State group or Kurdish militants in the past year, including an IS attack on Istanbul's main airport.

At least 54 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep last month. Authorities blamed the attack on IS militants.