PKK 'likely' involved in Istanbul terror attack

'Signs point to PKK,' says deputy PM after Saturday's blast that killed 29 people

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks with the relatives of the casualties of Istanbul terror attack during a funeral ceremony at Istanbul Police Department headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey on December 11, 2016 [Kayhan Özer / Anadolu Agency]

The PKK is “most likely” to have been involved in Saturday’s deadly attack Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said Sunday.

On Saturday evening, two explosions rocked Istanbul’s European side – a car bomb followed by a suicide bomb – leaving 29 people dead , including 27 police officers, and 155 others wounded – 19 in critical condition – Istanbul Governor’s Office announced early Sunday.

“Signs point to PKK,” Kurtulmus said. “Once more, we are sincerely calling on the world to stop exploiting [terrorist organisations] now that we are all fighting against terrorism,” he told a private TV channel.

Also read:

“The target was the police officers,” Kurtulmus said, recalling that a car bomb was detonated outside a football stadium in Istanbul’s Besiktas district two hours after a Turkish football league match between Besiktas and Bursaspor.

The fans of the two teams had left the stadium when the attack occurred, he said, adding only the police officers were around for security reasons.

An explosive weighing around 300 kilograms was used in the bomb attack according to bomb experts, Kurtulmus indicated.

The second attack, which came less than minute later was caused by suicide bomber and occurred in Macka Park in the same neighbourhood. He blew himself up after police noticed him, according to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu .

Kurtulmus called on “the friends of Turkey” to be in solidarity with the country against the latest terrorist attack, which he said was “also aimed at destroying Turkish economy and tourism”.

Turkish flags fly at half mast during a day of national mourning after the terror attacks near the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul's Besiktas, Turkey on December 11, 2016 [Cem Öksüz / Anadolu Agency]

Turkish flags fly at half mast on December 11, 2016 [File photo by Cem Öksüz / Anadolu Agency]

Relatives attend the funeral ceremony for the casualties of the Istanbul terror attacks at Istanbul Police Department headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey on December 11, 2016 [Arif Hüdaverdi Yaman / Anadolu Agency]

Funeral ceremony held for the casualties of the Istanbul terror attacks at Istanbul Police Department headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey on December 11, 2016 [Arif Hüdaverdi Yaman / Anadolu Agency]

Turkish flags fly at half mast during a day of national mourning after the terror attacks near the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul’s Besiktas, Turkey on December 11, 2016 [Cem Öksüz / Anadolu Agency]

Turkish flag in Istanbul, Turkey [Cem Öksüz /Anadolu Agency]

Turkish flags fly at half mast during a day of national mourning after the terror attacks near the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul’s Besiktas, Turkey on December 11, 2016 [Cem Öksüz / Anadolu Agency]

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.