- Title: Istanbul residents demand tigher security after twin bombings killed at least 29
- Date: 11th December 2016
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (DECEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) BESIKTAS'S VODAFONE ARENA STADIUM ROADS CLOSED TO TRAFFIC FORENSIC OFFICERS WALKING IN THE AREA ANOTHER FORENSIC OFFICER BY SECURITY CORDON FIRE TRUCKS PARKED NEARBY FORENSICS OFFICERS WORKING POLICEMEN STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE OF MACKA PARK WHERE SECOND ATTACK WAS CARRIED OUT BY A SUICIDE BOMBER POLICE CARS PARKED OUTSIDE THE PARK ARMOURED POLICE VEHICLES DRIVING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) ISTANBUL RESIDENT, RAIF PINAR, SAYING: "We believe that our security forces must be extra vigilant about these incidents. Unfortunately, they can enter the area (comfortably). Our security forces need to be vigilant in any case. The world has turned against us. They dare to do anything. We need to unite against these as a country and our security needs to be more vigilant." (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) ISTANBUL RESIDENT, MUSTAFA GULDUR, SAYING: "I don't know who carried these attacks. I believe there is a probe underway. But regardless of the perpetrators, this shouldn't have happened in the first place. They should have taken the necessary measures but this happened. I hope the authorities will make efforts to prevent further attacks. This is our request. We don't have any expectation other than security. We want them to ensure our security." VARIOUS OF FLAGS AT HALF-MAST VARIOUS OF MEN LOWERING FLAGS TO HALF-MAST ANKARA, TURKEY (DECEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) NEWSPAPERS ON DISPLAY
- Embargoed: 26th December 2016 06:53
- Keywords: Turkey explosions car bomb suicide bombings casualties morning newspapers day of national of mourning
- Location: ISTANBUL, ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ISTANBUL, ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Reuters ID: LVA0015CFU3IF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Residents of Istanbul on Sunday (December 11) urged the government and police to step up security after two bombs exploded less than a minute apart, killing at least 29 people and wounding 166 outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night (December 10), in a co-ordinated attack on police shortly after a match between two of Turkey's top teams.
President Tayyip Erdogan described the blasts as a terrorist attack on police and civilians. He said the aim of the bombings, two hours after the end of a match attended by thousands of people, had been to cause the maximum number of casualties.
The attack shook the soccer-mad nation still trying to recover from a series of deadly bombings this year in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group and others claimed by Kurdish militants.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the blasts came less than a week after Islamic State urged its supporters to target Turkey's "security, military, economic and media establishment".
"The world has turned against us. They dare to do anything. We need to unite against these as a country and our security needs to be more vigilant," said Istanbul resident of Istanbul Raif Pinar.
Another resident, Mustafa Guldur said the bombings should have been foiled.
Turkey is a member of the NATO military alliance and part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. It launched a military operation into Syria in August against the radical Islamist group. It is also fighting a Kurdish militant insurgency in its own southeast.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the first explosion, which came around two hours after the end of the match between Besiktas and Bursaspor, was at an assembly point for riot police officers. The second came as police surrounded the suicide bomber in the nearby Macka park.
Two of those killed in the blasts were civilians. The other 27 were police officers, including a police chief and another senior officer, Soylu said. He said 17 of the wounded were undergoing surgery and another six were in intensive care.
The bombings come five months after Turkey was shaken by a failed military coup, in which more than 240 people were killed, many of them in Istanbul, as rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets in a bid to seize power.
Istanbul has seen several other attacks this year, including in June, when around 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded as three suspected Islamic State militants carried out a gun and bomb attack on its main Ataturk airport. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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