TwinBombing Outside Istanbul SoccerStadium Kills 15,Wounds Dozen
11 December 2016 08:56 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two explosions, one thought to have been a suicide bomb, killed at least 15 people outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Saturday, officials said, in an attack apparently targeting police hours after a match between two of Turkey's top teams.
President Tayyip Erdogan described the blasts outside the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul's Besiktas soccer team, as a terrorist attack on police and civilians. He said the aim of the bombings, shortly after the end of a match attended by thousands of people, had been to cause the maximum number of casualties.
"As a result of these attacks unfortunately we have martyrs and wounded," Erdogan said in a statement.
"Nobody should doubt that with God's will, we as a country and a nation will overcome terror, terrorist organizations ... and the forces behind them," he said.
The attack shook a soccer-mad nation still trying to recover from a series of deadly bombings this year in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group and others claimed by Kurdish militants.
A senior official, citing information from the health ministry, said 15 people were killed and 69 wounded. Three separate security sources had earlier told Reuters that at least 13 people had been killed.
REUTERS | DIKO OKTARA
