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Apparent suicide bombing kills at least 5, wounds dozens in Istanbul Islamic State reportedly tied to deadly suicide bombing in Turkey
(about 1 hour later)
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. BEIRUT — A suicide bombing at a popular shopping area in Istanbul that killed at least five people, including two Israeli tourists, and wounded dozens more on Saturday may be tied to the Islamic State, according to media reports.
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. The blast targeted Istiklal Street, a major thoroughfare lined with 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 two Israelis had been killed, including a 60-year-old woman. The two were visiting Istanbul as part of a group of 14 Israeli tourists on a culinary tour and had just finished eating breakfast. Eleven other Israelis were injured in the attack, some of them critically, Nahshon said.
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 the wounded also included citizens of Germany, Iran and Ireland.
The Dogan news agency, a private Turkish media outlet, reported that in addition to Israelis, the wounded included citizens of Germany, Iran and Ireland. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night that Israel had decided to send two emergency planes with medical teams and supplies to Istanbul to help treat the wounded and fly them back to Israel.
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. “We are looking into the possibility that this terror attack was aimed at Israelis,” Netanyahu said at a news conference in Jerusalem.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but suspicion has undoubtedly fallen on Kurdish separatists who are waging a war in Turkey’s southeast. He said that he had not spoken to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since the attack but that the two governments were in contact and working together to enable Israeli teams to reach the area and assist the injured.
Saturday’s attack further suggests that this conflict is spilling over into urban areas, with bombings targeting Turkish soldiers and civilians in recent weeks. There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but Israeli media reported that the bomber had been identified as a Turkish national, Sabash Yildiz, 33, who was believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State.
Turkish armed forces have been 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 at a Kurdish peace rally in the capital, Ankara, in October. And the Islamic State was blamed for a suicide bombing in January that killed 10 people, including German tourists, in Istanbul.
Suspicion in the bombing had also fallen on Kurdish separatists who are waging a war in southeastern Turkey. That conflict has also been 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. And the Kurdistan Workers’ 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, 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.Eglash reported from Jerusalem.