Turkey on Sunday vowed vengeance against Kurdish militants it said were likely behind twin bombings that killed 38 people and wounded 155 in what appeared to be a coordinated attack on police outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul
Istanbul: Turkey on Sunday vowed vengeance against Kurdish militants it said were likely behind twin bombings that killed 38 people and wounded 155 in what appeared to be a coordinated attack on police outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul.
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The blasts on Saturday night — a car bomb outside the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team, followed by a suicide bomb attack in an adjacent park less than a minute later — shook a nation still trying to recover from a series of deadly bombings this year.
No claim as yet
There was no claim of responsibility, but Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the government would continue its battle against terrorism “until the end”, while interior minister Suleyman Soylu and other officials said early indications pointed to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). 13 people have been detained.
“Sooner or later, we will have our vengeance. This blood will not be left on the ground, no matter what the price, what the cost,” Soylu said in a speech at a funeral at the Istanbul police headquarters for five of the officers killed.