On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (

UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...

), a bombing occurred in central

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey, killing 12 people and injuring 51 others, three of them seriously. The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district near the

Şehzade Mosque The Şehzade Mosque ( tr, Şehzade Camii, from the original Persian شاهزاده ''Šāhzādeh'', meaning "prince") is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was com ...

and the Vezneciler Metro station.

Background

Istanbul had already been hit by two deadly bombings in January and

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

2016, both of which had been claimed by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL). Turkey was on high alert due to repeated bombings; two other attacks in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

in February and

that killed dozens were claimed by the

Kurdistan Freedom Hawks The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks or TAK ( ku, Teyrêbazên Azadiya Kurdistan), is a Kurdish nationalist militant group in Turkey seeking an independent Kurdish state in Turkish Kurdistan (eastern and southeastern Turkey). The group also opposes the Tu ...

(TAK), described as a "radical splinter group of the outlawed

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

(PKK)".

Bombing

The attack targeted

Çevik Kuvvet The Çevik Kuvvet ( en, Agile Force or ''Rapid Response Force'') is the riot squad of the General Directorate of Security (Turkish National Police). It was established in 1982, replacing the ''Toplum Polisi''. Equipment includes TOMA water can ...

police forces that were changing guard in front of the Faculty of Sciences and Literature of Istanbul University. The attack occurred on the Şehzadebaşı Avenue, in front of a hotel between the Vezneciler bus station and a police station. The site was also close to the

Beyazıt Square Beyazıt Square ( tr, Beyazıt Meydanı) lies to the north of Ordu Caddesi in the district of Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. Officially named ''Freedom Square'' (), it is more generally known as Beyazıt Square after the early Ottoman Bayezid II Mosq ...

, a major tourist attraction. The bombing occurred at the morning rush hour. The bomb was reportedly remotely detonated. An eyewitness reported that a car exploded, but whether the bomb-laden car was moving or was parked at the time of the explosion was reportedly under investigation. The force of the bombing overturned the police bus, damaged other nearby vehicles and heavily damaged the entrance of the hotel. A dorm that was close by to the site of the explosion was damaged by the bombing, with the fragments of the bomb shattering the windows and entering the students' rooms. Damage and shattered windows were reported over a wide area, including at the 16th-century

Perpetrator

No organization immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Initial assessments by Mete Yarar, a security analyst, stated that three organizations active in Turkey, the

(PKK), ISIL or Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) could all be responsible for the blast. Cevat Öneş, former Assistant Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization, stated that there was a high probability that the PKK was responsible for the attack, though the chances of the perpetrator being ISIL should not be disregarded. On 10 June, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that Turkey was no longer safe for foreign tourists to visit. The assailant was announced by TAK as Eylem Yaşa, codenamed "Eylem Nawroz", who had joined TAK in 2011 and was 32 years old at the time of the bombing. She was from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

but had spent most of her life in

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

and was part of the "Brigade of the Immortal" of TAK.

Reactions

Following the bombing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to the Haseki hospital, where the injured people were being treated. There, he said that the distinction the terrorist organizations made between civilians, soldiers or police were of no interest to the state, and that it was in the end humans that were killed. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım released a statement. Turkish Foreign Minister

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey since 24 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from August 2014 to August 2015. He is ...

condemned the attack and drew attention to the fact that it took place on the second day of Ramadan.

Selahattin Demirtaş Selahattin Demirtaş (born 10 April 1973) is a politician, author, and former member of the parliament of Turkey. He was the co-leader of the left-wing pro- Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), serving alongside Figen Yüksekdağ from 2014 ...

, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, called for all party leaders to have a summit to find a solution to the bloodshed and to resign if they failed. The

Indian Ministry of External Affairs The Ministry of External Affairs (abbreviated as MEA; hi, विदेश मंत्रालय, Videśa Mantrālaya, translit-std=ISO) of India is the government agency responsible for implementing Indian foreign policy. The Ministry of Ex ...

issued a statement condemning the bombing, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Turkey. The statement also offered condolences to the victims' families and wished the injured a quick recovery. John R. Bass, ambassador of the United States to Turkey, and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

also issued statements of solidarity with Turkey.

Aftermath

Following the bombing, the avenue was closed to traffic, and the Vezneciler metro station was closed. The public was evacuated from the area. After the evacuation of the area, security forces conducted a controlled explosion, which was heard by bystanders. Eyewitnesses also heard gunfire after the explosion, which was due to police officers firing in the air to restore order. Around 4 hours after the bombing, a ban on broadcasts of the bombing was put in place. All exams at Istanbul University were cancelled. President Erdoğan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has stated that "all indicators and signs regarding the attack" indicate that the

or another Kurdish separatist group carried out the bombing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Istanbul bombing, 2016 06

June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...