The horrifying moment explosion ripped through tourist shopping area in Istanbul killing four and wounding 20 as new suicide bomber hits Turkey
Footage from the scene showed people running down the street in panic
Shoppers were forced to cower in shops as explosion ripped through area
Comes after car bombing in Ankara killed 37 and injured 125 on March 13
Four people have died and at least 20 are wounded after an alleged suicide bomber targeted a tourist shopping area in Istanbul this morning.
Shocking CCTV footage shows shoppers cowering in shops and running away in panic as the explosion ripped through the street, which is lined with international stores and shopping centres.
Photographs taken of the aftermath showed the street, which is also close to a local government office, covered in blood as tourists and residents battled to help the wounded.
At least three of the wounded are in a serious condition, the city’s governor, Vasip Sahin, confirmed. Twelve of the people injured are foreigners.
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www.apnewsturk.com – Horrifying moment the Istanbul suicide bomber explodes from Akademi Portal on Vimeo.
Horrifying moment suicide bomber explosion rips through tourist shopping area in Istanbul killing four and wounding 20
news ful details: www.apnewsturk.com
Four people have died and at least 20 are wounded after an alleged suicide bomber targeted a tourist shopping area in Istanbul. Above, the scene after the devastating attack
Two men left lying on the floor after the explosion are spoken to by emergency service workers, as one of them clutches his leg
CCTV footage showed shoppers cowering in shops and running away in panic as the explosion ripped through the street, which is lined with international stores and shopping centres
The bomber, who was killed in the attack, was planning on detonating the device in a more crowed place but was deterred, officials revealed.
Instead, they are said to have suddenly carried out the attack on the street ‘out of fear’.
Initial findings indicated that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or an affiliate were responsible for the bombing.
It comes after a car bombing earlier this month killed 37 people and injured 125 others in the country’s capital, Ankara.
There were also attacks across the country yesterday. One police officer died in a bomb attack by Kurdish militants while another device was defused outside a local government building.
The country has been on high alert since the March 13 car bomb, in which two suspected Kurdish militants, one of them a woman, targeted people milling near a busy transport hub.
The street, which had been lined with flags and bunting prior to the attack, was flooded with police as they rushed to help the wounded after the attack
A man who survived the bombing is helped by emergency services, who discovered him on the pavement after the attack
A man is taken from the scene on a stretcher by some of the dozens of doctors and paramedics who arrived after the bomb
Shocking CCTV footage showed cars travelling close to the main square when a massive explosion ripped through the area, setting nearby vehicles ablaze.
The bomb, which Kurdish rebel group TAK claimed responsibility for, had been packed with pellets and nails to cause maximum injury and carnage, a police source said.
TAK, which also claimed a similar car bombing in Ankara in mid February that killed 29 people, has ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), against which the Turkish army is waging a major military campaign.
A court in Ankara on Friday evening remanded five people in custody on suspicion of links to last week’s attack in the capital.
apnewsturk-Chaotic scenes as police rush to site of Istanbul bomb blast from Akademi Portal on Vimeo.
The street, which had been lined with flags and bunting prior to the attack, was flooded with police as they rushed to help the wounded after the attack Details: www.apnewsturk.com
Emergency services are on scene following the explosion, which happened on a busy pedestrian street (above) lined with international stores and shopping centres
A father and daughter flee the scene, where people have been left covered in blood as emergency services battle to help the wounded
A man and a woman can be seen jumping a piece of police tape as they attempt to escape from the scene
Some people took shelter behind the metal barrier of a shop as police arrived on the scene
Police secure the area following the alleged suicide bombing in a major shopping and tourist district
In a statement, TAK said the bombing aimed to avenge Kurds killed during a ongoing military offensive against the PKK and said it had not meant to target civilians.
The latest events have led President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to vow he will bring terrorism ‘to its knees’.
Mr Erdogan said Turkey would use its right to self-defence to prevent future attacks and called for national unity.
He said: ‘Our people should not worry, the struggle against terrorism will for certain end in success and terrorism will be brought to its knees.’
Following the attack on Saturday morning, Mevlut Cavusoglu, foreign minister, reiterated Mr Erdogan’s comments and said the country’s fight against terrorism would continue with full force.
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