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Apparent suicide bombing kills at least 5 in Istanbul shopping area Apparent suicide bombing kills at least 5, wounds dozens in Istanbul
(about 7 hours later)
BEIRUT — An apparent suicide bombing Saturday at a popular shopping area in Istanbul killed at least five people and wounded others amid a wave of attacks by Kurdish and Islamic State militants that have rocked Turkey. BEIRUT — A suicide bombing Saturday at a popular shopping area in Istanbul killed at least five people and wounded dozens of others amid a wave of attacks by Kurdish and Islamic State militants that have rocked Turkey.
The blast targeted the city’s Istiklal Street, a major thoroughfare of international shopping outlets and restaurants that bustles with tourists on weekends. Five people had been confirmed dead and more than 20 wounded, Istanbul’s governor, Vasip Sahin, told the privately owned Dogan news agency. The blast targeted the city’s Istiklal Street, a major thoroughfare of international shopping outlets and restaurants that bustles with foreign tourists on weekends. Five people had been confirmed dead and at least 36 wounded, including 12 foreign nationals, the Hurriyet Daily News reported, citing comments from Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu.
Israeli media reported that three Israeli citizens were killed and another 11 wounded.
Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said government officials were looking at the situation but could not confirm details. And Israel’s first aid agency, Magen David Adom, said it planned to dispatch two emergency medical planes to Istanbul on Saturday evening, but it did not provide details on casualties.
The Dogan news agency, a private Turkish media outlet, reported that in addition to Israelis, the wounded included citizens of Germany, Iran and Ireland.
Images on social media showed police cordoning off the area. One video on Twitter purports to show the moment of the blast, with a bright flash going off amid a street filled with pedestrians.Images on social media showed police cordoning off the area. One video on Twitter purports to show the moment of the blast, with a bright flash going off amid a street filled with pedestrians.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but suspicion has undoubtedly fallen on Kurdish separatists who are waging a war in Turkey’s southeast.There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but suspicion has undoubtedly fallen on Kurdish separatists who are waging a war in Turkey’s southeast.
Saturday’s attack further suggests that this conflict is spilling over into urban areas, with bombings targeting both Turkish soldiers and civilians in recent weeks. Saturday’s attack further suggests that this conflict is spilling over into urban areas, with bombings targeting Turkish soldiers and civilians in recent weeks.
Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for a car bomb last week that struck a square of shops and restaurants in the capital, Ankara, killing at least 37 people. The Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, asserted responsibility for an attack Feb. 17 in Ankara that killed 28 Turkish soldiers. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for a car bomb last week that struck a square of shops and restaurants in the capital, Ankara, killing at least 37 people. And the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, asserted responsibility for an attack Feb. 17 in Ankara that killed 28 Turkish soldiers.
Turkish armed forces also are waging cross-border strikes in Syria against the Islamic State group, which has carried out bombings in Turkey in recent months. One of those attacks killed more than 100 people in the capital at a Kurdish peace rally in October. Turkish armed forces also are waging cross-border strikes in Syria against the Islamic State, which has carried out bombings in Turkey in recent months.
One of the Islamic State attacks killed more than 100 people in the capital at a Kurdish peace rally in October. And the Islamic State was blamed for a suicide bombing in January that killed 10 people, including German tourists, in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, at least 39 people were killed Saturday in airstrikes that targeted the Islamic State’s self-declared capital of Raqqa in eastern Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently group, another organization that monitors the Syrian conflict, put the number of deaths in the Raqqa attacks at more than 40. The group blamed Russian warplanes, although this claim could not be independently verified.
Russia has strenuously denied accusations by activists and rights groups that its air raids in Syria have killed scores of civilians and destroyed hospitals, schools and other non-military targets.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin last week began drawing down his military forces in Syria amid a partial, nationwide cease-fire, his warplanes have continued to bomb Islamic State targets, including in the eastern city of Palmyra. The Islamic State is not included in the truce, which took hold Feb. 27 and has largely held despite serious violations, particularly by the Syrian government.
Moscow began firing airstrikes at opposition groups in Syria in late September, an intervention that dealt heavy blows to rebels and shifted the momentum of the country’s devastating civil war.
Eglash reported from Jerusalem.