Suicide Bombing Kills 4-5 Foreigners in Istanbul Shopping District

A suicide bombing occurred in the shopping district of Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday. Four were killed, 36 wounded by the blast. At least 24 of the wounded, are foreigners. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the bombing “inhumane” and would not stop Turkey.

Two Isaelis, two Americans and one Iranian were killed. One of the people may have dual citizenship according to Reuters, while Al Jazeera asserts that “at least 5” have been killed.

“There is information that it is an attack carried out by an ISIS member, but this is preliminary information, we are still checking it,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“No center of terrorism will reach its aim with such monstrous attacks,” Davutoglu said in a statement. “Our struggle will continue with the same resolution and determination until terrorism ends completely.”

Nobody has as yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Senior Turkish officials at first asserted that either the PKK or ISIS was behind the attack, and later confirmed that DNA testing revealed that the identity of one bomber was Mehmet Ozturk- a Turkish ISIS member

“The attacker detonated the bomb before reaching the target point because they were scared of the police,” said an unnamed official.

Iranian foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the bombing showed “the ugly face of terrorism.”  He was on an official visit to Istanbul.

France has called the attack “despicable and cowardly,” while NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said it was “another terrorist outrage against innocent civilians.” The US State Department called it “indefensible violence targeting innocent people throughout Turkey.”

The Kurdish HDP political party has condemned the attack, while the PKK has claimed that it does not target innocent civilians and has condemned attacks on them.

The PKK traditionally targets the Turkish military.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

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