In the latest of a series of attacks on the Turkish military, a remote-controlled bomb killed 5 people and wounded 15 on a busy highway in Istanbul early Tuesday, the governor’s office announced.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Turkish news reports suggested that the attack might have been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, an armed separatist group seeking autonomy in southeastern Turkey that the authorities here, along with the United States and the European Union, consider a terrorist organization. The group has been fighting the Turkish state since the 1980s, and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
“As Istanbul people, we will hold firm against terror that aims to create an air of anxiety and hopelessness,” Huseyin Avni Mutlu, the Istanbul governor, said. “We will do everything in our capacity to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.”
According to witnesses and police investigators, the explosion took place during the morning rush hour in the city’s Halkali district, as a military shuttle bus traveled between a residential compound and offices that include the military police headquarters.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Turkish news reports suggested that the attack might have been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, an armed separatist group seeking autonomy in southeastern Turkey that the authorities here, along with the United States and the European Union, consider a terrorist organization. The group has been fighting the Turkish state since the 1980s, and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
“As Istanbul people, we will hold firm against terror that aims to create an air of anxiety and hopelessness,” Huseyin Avni Mutlu, the Istanbul governor, said. “We will do everything in our capacity to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.”
According to witnesses and police investigators, the explosion took place during the morning rush hour in the city’s Halkali district, as a military shuttle bus traveled between a residential compound and offices that include the military police headquarters.
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