- Title: Eyewitness describes moment explosions hit outside Istanbul soccer stadium
- Date: 10th December 2016
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (DECEMBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES AT SITE (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) CLEANER NEAR AT DOLMABAHCE MOSQUE, OMER YILMAZ, SAYING: "I entered the coffee shop five minutes before the blast. I heard two explosions in 30 seconds. They were loud. I saw the flames as well. I walked towards police bus and public vehicles and I saw policemen inside the bus [that was on fire]. I think there are many wounded. Because it was a big explosion. I saw the windows were broken at the mosque where I work." AMBULANCES DRIVING PAST POLICEMEN MOUNTING SECURITY VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES DRIVING PAST TRAFFIC POLICE WORKING VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES DRIVING PAST VARIOUS OF POLICE IN PLAIN CLOTHES HELICOPTER FLYING AROUND
- Embargoed: 25th December 2016 21:33
- Keywords: Turkey explosion football stadium
- Location: ISTANBUL. TURKEY
- City: ISTANBUL. TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Reuters ID: LVA0025CAWPQF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Two explosions, one thought to have been a suicide bomb, killed 13 people outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Saturday (December 10), security sources said, in an attack that appeared to target police hours after a match between two of Turkey's top teams.
An eyewitness in the area told Reuters there were two explosions within 30 seconds of each other.
"I saw the flames as well. I walked towards police bus and public vehicles and I saw policemen inside the bus (that was on fire). I think there are many wounded. Because it was a big explosion. I saw the windows were broken at the mosque where I work," said Omer Yilmaz, who works as a cleaner at the nearby Dolmabahce mosque, directly across the road from the stadium.
Still photographs taken by another witness, Muhammad Karim, showed smoke rising from the blast site, as well as a video of ambulances driving to the scene.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu described the blasts outside the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul's Besiktas soccer team, as a "cruel plot". One of the explosions hit directly outside the stadium, while the suspected suicide bomber struck in the adjacent Macka park, he told reporters.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Islamic State, Kurdish and far-leftist militants have all carried out bomb attacks in recent years. The NATO member is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria, and is battling an insurgency by Kurdish militants in its southeast.
Three separate security sources said at least 13 people had been killed but there was no official confirmation of this. Soylu said he would make a statement on the death toll later.
He had earlier said that around 20 people were wounded and that initial indications were that a car bomb targeting a police bus was responsible for one of the blasts. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None