Explosions near Istanbul soccer stadium kill 29

Most of the victims were police officers

ISTANBUL — Twin attacks by a suicide bomber and a car bomber near an Istanbul soccer stadium Saturday night killed 29 people and wounded 166 others in the latest large-scale assault to traumatize a nation confronting several security threats.

The bombs targeted police officers, killing 27 of them with two civilians, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters early Sunday. He added that 10 people had been arrested in connection with the “terrorist attack.”

The civilian death toll was lower because fans had already left the newly built Vodafone Arena Stadium after the soccer match when the blasts occurred. Witnesses also heard gunfire after the explosions.

“We have once again witnessed tonight in Istanbul the ugly face of terror which tramples on every value and decency,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.

The first bomb went off just outside the facility known popularly as Besiktas Stadium after the local team and neighborhood. The second blast that came moments later was attributed by authorities to a suicide bomber.

There was no claim of responsibility. This year, Istanbul has witnessed a spate of attacks attributed by authorities to Islamic State or claimed by Kurdish militants. A state of emergency is in force after a failed July 15 coup attempt.

Turkey is a partner in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, and its armed forces are active in neighboring Syria and Iraq. It is also facing a renewed conflict with an outlawed Kurdish movement in the southeast.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Washington condemns the attack in “the strongest terms.”

“We stand together with Turkey, our NATO Ally, against all terrorists who threaten Turkey, the United States, and global peace and stability,” Price said in a statement.

Soylu said the first explosion was caused by a passing vehicle that detonated in an area where police forces were located at the stadium exit right after the match. A riot police bus appears to have been the target.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said a person who had been stopped in the nearby Macka Park committed suicide by triggering explosives.

EMRAH GUREL/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rescue services work at the scene of explosions Saturday near the Vodafone Arena Stadium in Istanbul.