At least 13 people were killed Saturday after a car bomb detonated in Istanbul Saturday night, shaking buildings in the area.
State media put the initial estimate of wounded individuals at 20, and government ministers have claimed that the incident is a terror attack. There have been no reports of organizations taking responsibility so far.
The confirmed blast – another was reported in the area immediately after the first but remained unconfirmed – occurred outside soccer team Besiktas’ Vodafone stadium, with smoke rising above the city skyline from the area. The team had played a home game earlier in the day.
Multiple reports are suggesting the target of the car bomb were Turkish riot police.
Istanbul is a popular travel destination for Israelis, and the Israeli consulate in the city is checking whether any Israeli nations have been affected, however the latest update from the Foreign Affairs Ministry claimed that none were known to have been involved.
The explosion happened after and not during the soccer game as I initially tweeted (sorry for the mistake) #Istanbul pic.twitter.com/tzyhJgIwvF
— Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) December 10, 2016
Turkey has come under repeated terror attacks in 2016 by both Kurdish militants and ISIS. Before Saturday’s attack five other bombings had hit Istanbul alone this year.
In June, three ISIS suicide bombers opened fire and blew themselves up in Istanbul’s main airport, killing 41 people and wounding 239.
Five people including three Israelis were killed in Istanbul in March, and 36 wounded, when an ISIS bomber detonated on the popular Istiklal pedestrian mall.
At least 20 people wounded by an explosion outside a football stadium in #Istanbul – Turkish interior minister says https://t.co/qNoFuHdMw3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 10, 2016
