A bus carrying Turkish police officers appeared to be the target of a car bomb attack. The blast happened in the Vezneciler neighbourhood, between the headquarters of the local municipality and the campus of Istanbul University, during Tuesday morning’s rush hour. It shattered shop windows and scattered rubble over nearby streets.
The explosion was caused by a bomb placed inside a car and was detonated as the police vehicle was passing by.
Four civilians and seven police officers were among the dead, said Istanbul governor Vasip Şahin in a live statement on Turkish television. Some 36 other people were injured and three of the wounded were in serious condition, he added.
No group has claimed the attacks yet.
Violence in Turkey has escalated recently as a result of tensions with Kurdish separatists and the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) have been targeting police and military personnel with bombs since July, when a fragile peace process between the rebels and the government collapsed. ISIS has also been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in Turkey.
Recent attacks in Turkey
March 2016: 4 people killed and at least 36 injured in central Istanbul
March 2016: 37 people killed and at least 125 injured in the capital city Ankara
February 2016: 28 killed and at least 60 injured in a bombing in the capital city Ankara
January 2016: 13 German tourists are killed in a suspected IS suicide bombing in Istanbul
October 2015: More than 100 people killed in a double suicide bombing in Ankara
Born and raised in Istanbul where I’m a medical student at YeditepeUniversity.