At least 38 people, including 27 police officers and two civilians, were killed and 166 wounded after double explosions struck outside a major soccer stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night. At least 10 suspects have been detained in connection with the explosions.
Fans had already gone home after watching a home football match hosted by Besiktas when the blasts took place - the first was a car bomb while the second was a suicide bomber that exploded 45 seconds after the first one. According to the Turkish authorities, around 20 police officers were wounded in the blasts. Gunfire was also heard following the bombings.
The area was cordoned off by the police as smoke rose from behind the newly constructed Vodafone Arena Stadium, known colloquially as Besiktas Stadium after the local team and neighborhood, the Associated Press reported.
Accoridng to an AFP report, the explosions took place near the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce Palace that houses Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's offices in Istanbul. The site of the attack is also just a kilometre away from the busy Taksim Square, a major tourist attraction.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told AFP that the first explosion was caused by a car bomb that exploded outside Besiktas's football stadium around 10:30 p.m. The second explosion, which was carried out by a suicide bomber who blew himself up in front of the police, took place 45 seconds later near Macka Park.
"It is thought to be a car bomb at a point where our special forces police were located, right after the match at the exit where Bursaspor fans exited, after the fans had left. We have no information on the number of dead. God willing, we hope there won't be any," Soylu was quoted as saying by the Associated Press citing Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. He added that the blast took place on a hill overlooking the stadium.
"An act of terror targeted our security forces and citizens at Besiktas tonight... We have witnessed once more here in Istanbul the ugly face of terror which tramples down any form of value and morals," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.
Besiktas football club also issued a statement condemning the attack and confirming that none of the fans or players were hurt: "Terrorists... attacked our heroic security forces who ensure that both our fans and Bursaspor's supporters are safe. We will stand firm against the vile attackers who will never achieve their goal... We wish a speedy recovery to our wounded citizens."
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Istanbul and other cities of Turkey have been victims to a string of attacks attributed to Islamic State jihadists and Kurdish militants in 2016.
The country's radio and television board issued a temporary coverage ban "to avoid broadcasts that can result in public fear, panic or chaos, or that will serve the aims of terrorist organizations," the AP reported.
In June 2016, three suicide bombers attacked Istanbul's Ataturk Airport had killed 47 people and injured 147 others. The authorities had detained several suspects andhad attributed the attacks to the Islamic State group.
At least 57 people, including 34 children, were killed and 94 wounded when a suspected suicide bomber targeted a Kurdish wedding celebration in Turkey's southeastern city of Gaziantep in August 2016.
