Car bomb wounds 20 outside Istanbul soccer stadium
Witness says target appeared to be riot police bus
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A suspected car bomb outside a soccer stadium in central Istanbul wounded around 20 people on Saturday, hours after the end of a match between two of Turkey’s top teams, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
Soylu, speaking in parliament during a budget hearing, said around 20 people had been wounded following the match between Besiktas and Bursaspor and that initial indications were that the blast was caused by a car bomb targeting a riot police bus.
Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan wrote on Twitter late Saturday night that the blast was a terrorist attack.
Two witnesses told Reuters that there were two blasts. A Reuters photographer said many riot police officers had been seriously wounded.
Armed police sealed off streets around the Vodafone Arena, home to the Besiktas soccer team. TV footage showed the wreckage of a burned out car and two separate fires on the road outside the stadium.
Broadcaster NTV said the explosion targeted a police vehicle that was leaving the stadium after fans had already dispersed.
Turkey has been hit by a series of bombings in recent years, some blamed on Islamic State terrorists, others claimed by Kurdish and far-leftist militant groups.
The Turkish soccer team Bursaspor said there appear to be no injuries among its fans following the blast.
“We have contacted our fan groups. There appear to be no injuries among our fans. We wish injured citizens a quick recovery,” Bursaspor said in a statement on its Twitter account.
As of press time, the Israeli Consulate was checking whether any Israelis were affected. Istanbul is a popular holiday destination for Israeli tourists.