Last night at about 11:00 PM, Istanbul was rocked by two explosions. The first blast occurred right after a football game outside the Beskitas Vodafone (Football) Arena. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the blast was detonated by remote control in a car, which was parked next to a bus transporting police. Within a minute of the first blast, another bomb detonated less than a mile away in Macka Park.
Of the 38 killed, 30 were police officers. At a press conference this morning, Recep Akdag, the Turkisih Health Minister, said that 17 of the wounded were undergoing operations on their injuries. Before the press conference, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Istanbul “witnessed the ugly face of terror trampling all values and morals… we will overcome terror, terror organizations… and the powers behind them.”
Interestingly, the Buraspoor Football Club stated that the explosion was near the far stands where our supporters were sitting. We received a warning five minutes before the explosion and our supporters left the premises.
The U.S. Consulate in Istanbul tweeted the following:
(3/3) Please avoid the area, monitor local press reporting, and let friends and family know you are OK.
— ABDIstanbul (@ABDIstanbul) 10 בדצמבר 2016
(2/2) We condemn tonight's cowardly attack, and salute the courage of the Turkish people as we stand with them against terror.
— US Embassy Turkey (@USEmbassyTurkey) 10 בדצמבר 2016
Although no group has taken responsibility for the blasts, ISIS (in conjunction with the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK) are prime suspects, having staged attacks in Turkey this past year. 13 suspects were detained in connection with the blasts.