Turkey: central Istanbul hit by suicide bomb

[rooster59]

Turkey: central Istanbul hit by suicide bomb

By Alasdair Sandford

An explosion has torn through the centre of Turkey’s largest city Istanbul. Reports say it was a suicide bombing on a main shopping street in Taksim, an area popular with tourists.

In an update on the situation, Istanbul’s Governor Vasip Şahin said five people were known to have died – including the suicide bomber.

Three Israelis and one Iranian citizen were among the dead, Turkish media reported.

The number of injured was set at 36 according to Turkey’s Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu. Three of the wounded are in a critical condition.

Twelve of those hurt are said to be foreigners – half of them from Israel. The country’s foreign ministry has confirmed that some of its citizens were hurt.

The Istanbul governor also said that rumours of attacks elsewhere in Istanbul were false.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

Reuters quoted two Turkish officials as saying new evidence suggested the suicide bomber may have come from the self-proclaimed Islamic State or the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

Earlier, Reuters quoted an official as saying that initial findings indicated that either the PKK or an affiliate carried out the bombing.

TV pictures showed an area being cordoned off by police in Istiklal Street, a wide pedestrian boulevard lined with international stores and shopping centres. Helicopters were seen circling overhead.

The area is usually busy; hundreds of thousands are said to pass through every day. People were seen running from the area in panic after the explosion.

There are reports that the bomber was on the way to an even more crowded spot at another target, and may have been deterred by police and detonated the bomb “out of fear”.

The device reportedly went off in front of a kebab restaurant and the local governor’s office.

On Thursday and Friday Germany temporarily closed its embassy in Ankara, and its consulate and a German school in Istanbul, after the government said it had received intelligence about a potential attack.

Reports say a broadcast ban has been imposed on Turkish media reporting anything other than official accounts of the bombing, in line with restrictions brought in by President Erdogan’s government.

Turkey has been hit by a rising tide of violence in recent months.

Last Sunday (March 13) a car bomb in the centre of the Turkish capital Ankara killed 37 people. The attack was later claimed by the TAK, an offshoot of the PKK.

Last month 28 people were killed and dozens wounded in an attack on a military convoy in Ankara. In October more than 100 people were killed in a double-suicide bombing at a Kurdish peace rally in the Turkish capital.

Turkey has been fighting a security threat on several fronts. The authorities have been battling Kurdish militants mainly in the southeast of the country since the collapse of a ceasefire last July. Meanwhile several attacks have been blamed on the self-proclaimed Islamic State, operating from its base in neighbouring Syria. Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against ISIL and a Turkish airbase is used for raids on Iraq and Syria.

The Turkish military has said that its air force carried out strikes against PKK bases in northern Iraq on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday – before the Istanbul bombing.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-03-20

[Scott]

This is not very far from where I lived some years back. Turkey has had terrorist attacks for a long time, but it seems like they are increasing in frequency lately; either that or they are making the news more.

[craigt3365]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

[trogers]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Bali is a safer destination...

[Scott]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Turkey is reasonably safe. While I was there, I was only in the vicinity of 2 bombings when they went off.

The number of destinations without problems is rapidly diminishing. You might want to try an adventure holiday, such as Antartica, but be careful for those penguins and don't fall in the water, it's pretty cold, I hear.

I know a guy who is taking a holiday in Siberia, which is probably reasonably safe, but he got off the plane in Vladivostok only to find his luggage hadn't made it. He left Thailand in summer attire, and I have a feeling the Trans-Siberian rail ride was less than comfortable when he found out his luggage would be waiting for him in Moscow!

[craigt3365]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Bali is a safer destination...

We went to Bali not long after the first blast. I like to help the locals with my tourist dollars if possible. Was in Bali 3 weeks before the second blast, and had lunch a few shops down from where it happened. Was also in Cairo during the protests. Got my T-shirt from Tahrir Square, and was part of the group running when the police started chasing people.

4 blasts in such a short amount of time with serious problems there concerns me. It was only going to be a short stop over on way to another destination (Turkmenistan) anyway. Having problems finding flights that meet my time schedule.

[craigt3365]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Turkey is reasonably safe. While I was there, I was only in the vicinity of 2 bombings when they went off.

The number of destinations without problems is rapidly diminishing. You might want to try an adventure holiday, such as Antartica, but be careful for those penguins and don't fall in the water, it's pretty cold, I hear.

I know a guy who is taking a holiday in Siberia, which is probably reasonably safe, but he got off the plane in Vladivostok only to find his luggage hadn't made it. He left Thailand in summer attire, and I have a feeling the Trans-Siberian rail ride was less than comfortable when he found out his luggage would be waiting for him in Moscow!

I'd LOVE to go to Antartica! But expensive. Almost went when we were in Ushuaia, Argentia, as you can get last minute, cheap, bookings. But the timing didn't work out.

I did the Trans-Siberian several years ago. Beijing to St. Petersburg. 6 weeks, just booking things as I went along. Fantastic trip. But I had my luggage! LOL

We were in Turkey when my father passed. Had to cut our trip short. Bummer as the next stop was Syria. Such amazing ruins there. Not sure I'll ever be able to visit there....sadly....

[Scott]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Turkey is reasonably safe. While I was there, I was only in the vicinity of 2 bombings when they went off.

The number of destinations without problems is rapidly diminishing. You might want to try an adventure holiday, such as Antartica, but be careful for those penguins and don't fall in the water, it's pretty cold, I hear.

I know a guy who is taking a holiday in Siberia, which is probably reasonably safe, but he got off the plane in Vladivostok only to find his luggage hadn't made it. He left Thailand in summer attire, and I have a feeling the Trans-Siberian rail ride was less than comfortable when he found out his luggage would be waiting for him in Moscow!

I'd LOVE to go to Antartica! But expensive. Almost went when we were in Ushuaia, Argentia, as you can get last minute, cheap, bookings. But the timing didn't work out.

I did the Trans-Siberian several years ago. Beijing to St. Petersburg. 6 weeks, just booking things as I went along. Fantastic trip. But I had my luggage! LOL

We were in Turkey when my father passed. Had to cut our trip short. Bummer as the next stop was Syria. Such amazing ruins there. Not sure I'll ever be able to visit there....sadly....

There are even more ruins in Syria now.

.....but I fear we are drifting off topic.

Turkey, like Thailand, is a big country and there are places that are quite safe and a lot to see. Other than lingering in some of the bigger cities, safety from terrorists isn't a big problem. The PKK's primary target is the gov't. That doesn't mean that the tourist sector is safe, but a lot of the places aren't targets because there just wouldn't be much bang for the buck, so to speak.

The Eastern portion, around Diyabakir is a little dodgy, but even there it is reasonably safe, with a very, very large military presence. Venturing out at night would not be wise in that area.

Overall, it remains to be seen if Turkey is getting worse for terrorism. The gov't clampdown on news reporting means a lot won't get reported, although anything significant will make it's way into the news.

I am afraid some of these more oppressive regimes may be able to control the news outlets to some extent, but social media is much harder to control.

[mopar71]

This is not very far from where I lived some years back. Turkey has had terrorist attacks for a long time, but it seems like they are increasing in frequency lately; either that or they are making the news more.

Since you lived there I would be interested in your opinion, why do you think the frequency of attacks has increased?

It seems groups are not even claiming them either. That seems strange.

[Ulic]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Bali is a safer destination...

We went to Bali not long after the first blast. I like to help the locals with my tourist dollars if possible. Was in Bali 3 weeks before the second blast, and had lunch a few shops down from where it happened. Was also in Cairo during the protests. Got my T-shirt from Tahrir Square, and was part of the group running when the police started chasing people.

4 blasts in such a short amount of time with serious problems there concerns me. It was only going to be a short stop over on way to another destination (Turkmenistan) anyway. Having problems finding flights that meet my time schedule.

The way bomb blasts and protests bracket your travels please post your ful travel itinerary

here on TV so I know where to avoid.

[craigt3365]

Was in the planning stages of a trip there. Rethinking the plan now....too bad.

Bali is a safer destination...

We went to Bali not long after the first blast. I like to help the locals with my tourist dollars if possible. Was in Bali 3 weeks before the second blast, and had lunch a few shops down from where it happened. Was also in Cairo during the protests. Got my T-shirt from Tahrir Square, and was part of the group running when the police started chasing people.

4 blasts in such a short amount of time with serious problems there concerns me. It was only going to be a short stop over on way to another destination (Turkmenistan) anyway. Having problems finding flights that meet my time schedule.

The way bomb blasts and protests bracket your travels please post your ful travel itinerary

here on TV so I know where to avoid.

I'm an intrepid traveler. These things happen.

[arjunadawn]

It could be argued that Turkey is increasingly suffering similar horrors as elsewhere because of its location, and that attacks are generally increasing. Or, it could be argued that as Turkey losses its center of secular gravity and moves ever closer to the islamist cult of personality hybrid that is Erdogan, he visits this on his people. I tend to think Turkey's woes are a result of utterly vacant polices, decapitation of military leaders, instigation in regional wars, funding multiple sides in a neighbor's conflict, and trashing what remains of its own domestic law environment.

[kamahele]

Poor Turks. While the events across the border are certainly playing a large part in the increase in attacks in Turkey, the increasingly dictatorial government has to share some of the blame by focusing solely on the Syrian Kurds for so long instead of ISIS. They've reignited the violence with their Kurdish population and now are fighting ISIS and the Kurds inside their own borders.

[Galactus]

RIP for the deceased and patience for their families and sad, it is foreign guests get killed in this incident:(

i lived a km away from bomb blast long time ago.

know that area very well and it is fortunate that it was morning time and weekend and it is not a very packed area of Taksim.

Most probably they planned to bomb the people attending Newroz celebrations. ( Newroz is some kind of some kind of Spring Celebration held at those regions)

and luckily authorities banned Newroz celebrations so bomber could not find a crowd and attacked innocent Israeli and Iranian guests like a coward!