Bomb rocks Istanbul; PM hints at terrorism

A bomb that exploded Thursday in Istanbul’s upscale Etiler neighborhood, wounding eight people including one police officer passing by, seems to have been the work of a terrorist organization, according to the prime minister.

"Once we have the final conclusions, authorities including Istanbul’s governor will make the necessary explanations. It would be wrong to declare anything at this point. When we look at it, we can easily realize the explosion is related to a terrorist organization," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told journalists Thursday during a visit to the governor of Central Anatolian province of Niğde, according to a Doğan news agency, or DHA.

Yazgülü Şubatlı and 38-year-old Ayten Bal were seriously injured in the explosion, with the latter having reportedly lost her leg.

The blast was caused by a medium-strength bomb that was mounted on an electric bicycle near a bus stop in the Etiler neighborhood, Istanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said.

Çapkın confirmed in a statement that explosives placed on an electric bicycle had caused the blast at around 9 a.m. He also said the bomb was an explosive of medium strength.

The bomb’s target might have been the police, as the electric bicycle carrying the bomb was placed close to a nearby technical college for police. Meanwhile, Istanbul’s Gov. Hüseyin Mutlu said, "Citizens were the target," according to a report Thursday on Hürriyet’s website.

Saying that the scene of the explosion was still under investigation, Mutlu noted there had been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. He condemned the attack, saying it showed the brutal face of terrorism one more time, Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

"Terror has reached the cities. The 12 June elections are not more important than people’s security," said the general chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, Yalçın Topçu, in a written statement, according to Anatolia. Recalling that terror attacks keep taking lives in Turkey and that they had warned the authorities for months, Topçu said, "Those cursed [people] who feed on blood and violence have repeatedly claimed that action and provocations will increase as the elections approach."

He blamed authorities for being content with just condemning terrorist attacks after they occur. "The government keeps criticizing political extensions of separatists, in pursuit of gathering votes, instead of fighting efficiently against terror."

Topçu also said a change in the existing concept of the fight against terrorism was necessary, adding that the death sentence had to be brought to the agenda once more, for deterrence purposes.  

The eight people wounded in the explosion were sent to hospitals in the surrounding area. Meanwhile, the blast also damaged a public bus and a private vehicle passing by, as well as several buildings. Traffic in Etiler was reopened after the police and security forces completed their investigation in the area.


/Hurriyet Daily News/