Turkey vows revenge as 38 die in twin bombings

Istanbul, December 11 

Turkey on Sunday vowed vengeance as a Kurdish militant group claimed twin bombings that killed 38 people and wounded 155 in what appeared to be a coordinated attack on the police outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul.

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 in cities, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

The attacks were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), which is seen as a radical offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

“A revenge squad from TAK carried out simultaneous attacks outside Istanbul Vodafone Arena stadium and Macka park at around 10:30 PM local time (1930 GMT)," said a statement posted on TAK's website.

“Turkish people are not the direct target of TAK,” it said, accusing the government of "fascism" against the Kurdish people.

“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,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a speech at a funeral at the Istanbul police headquarters for five of the officers killed. 

Soylu said the first explosion, which came around two hours after the match between Besiktas and Bursaspor, was at an assembly point for riot police. The second came as police surrounded the suicide bomber in the nearby Macka park. Thirty-eight people died, including 30 police and seven civilians, he said.  One person remained unidentified.

A total of 155 persons were being treated in hospital, with 14 of them in intensive care and five in surgery, Health Minister Recep Akdag told a news conference. Flags flew at half mast, and Sunday was declared a day of national mourning. A march against terrorism had been called in Istanbul.

Erdogan cancelled a planned trip to Kazakhstan, his office said.   — Reuters