Istanbul (dpa) – Twin blasts in Istanbul killed 29 people and injured 166, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Saturday, adding that 10 people have been detained in connection with the attack near a football stadium.
Among the dead were 27 police officers and two civilians, Soylu said, condemning what he described as a terror attack. Some of the injured
remain in serious condition.
The minister indicated that the attacks had specifically targeted the police.
The bombs went off about 45 seconds apart in the vicinity of the Vodafone Arena, the home stadium of Besiktas football team, which had just concluded a match.
Most of the spectators had dispersed already, according to reports from the scene.
The first blast was an apparent car bomb, the second, by a park in the area, appears to be have been the work of a suicide bomber, the
interior minister asserted.
The explosions came after a match between Besiktas and Bursaspor on the European side of Turkey’s largest city.
The authorities imposed a partial broadcast ban on the incident, as is usual after such incidents in Turkey, hindering access to information.
Official information on the number of casualties was not issued for hours after the blast, reporters in Istanbul said.
The Besiktas sports club “vehemently” condemned the attack near its home stadium in Istanbul.
On Twitter, the club said one of the victims was apparently an employee at a shop at the stadium which sells fan gear.
No group has claimed responsibility. There have been a number of bombings in Istanbul, Ankara and other areas in Turkey since last
year.
Some bombs, notably those targeting security forces, have been claimed by Kurdish militants while other attacks are blamed on
Islamic State.
-ANA
