On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (

UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a UTC offset, time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, ...

), a bombing occurred in central

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey, killing 12 people and injuring 51 others, three of them seriously. The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district near the Şehzade Mosque and the Vezneciler Metro station.

Background

Istanbul had already been hit by two deadly bombings in

January January is the first month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the No ...

and

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

2016, both of which had been claimed by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

(ISIL). Turkey was on high alert due to repeated bombings; two other attacks in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the February 29, 29th day being called the ''leap day''. February is the third a ...

and

that killed dozens were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), described as a "a radical offshoot of the outlawed

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK)".

Bombing

The attack targeted Çevik Kuvvet police forces that were changing guard in front of the Faculty of Sciences and Literature of

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. The attack occurred on the Şehzadebaşı Avenue, in front of a hotel between the Vezneciler bus station and a police station. The site was also close to the Beyazıt Square, a major tourist attraction. The bombing occurred at the morning rush hour. The bomb was reportedly remotely detonated. An eyewitness reported that a car exploded, but whether the bomb-laden car was moving or was parked at the time of the explosion was reportedly under investigation. The force of the bombing overturned the police bus, damaged other nearby vehicles and heavily damaged the entrance of the hotel. A dorm that was close by to the site of the explosion was damaged by the bombing, with the fragments of the bomb shattering the windows and entering the students' rooms. Damage and shattered windows were reported over a wide area, including at the 16th-century Şehzade Mosque.

Perpetrator

No organization immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Initial assessments by Mete Yarar, a security analyst, stated that three organizations active in Turkey, the

(PKK), ISIL or Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) could all be responsible for the blast. Cevat Öneş, former Assistant Undersecretary of the

National Intelligence Organization loction 39°54'25.0"N 32°39'59.3"E The National Intelligence Organization (), also known by its Turkish language, Turkish initials MIT or MİT, or colloquially as the Organization (), is an intelligence agency of the Turkish government tasked ...

, stated that there was a high probability that the PKK was responsible for the attack, though the chances of the perpetrator being ISIL should not be disregarded. On 10 June, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that Turkey was no longer safe for foreign tourists to visit. The assailant was announced by TAK as Eylem Yaşa, codenamed "Eylem Nawroz", who had joined TAK in 2011 and was 32 years old at the time of the bombing. She was from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

but had spent most of her life in

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

and was part of the "Brigade of the Immortal" of TAK.

Reactions

Following the bombing, Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

went to the Haseki hospital, where the injured people were being treated. There, he said that the distinction the terrorist organizations made between civilians, soldiers or police were of no interest to the state, and that it was in the end humans that were killed. Turkish Prime Minister

Binali Yıldırım Binali Yıldırım (; born 20 December 1955) is a Turkish politician who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 27th and last prime minister of Turkey from 2016 to 2018 and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly from 2018 to 2019. He w ...

released a statement. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu condemned the attack and drew attention to the fact that it took place on the second day of Ramadan. Selahattin Demirtaş, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, called for all party leaders to have a summit to find a solution to the bloodshed and to resign if they failed. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement condemning the bombing, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Turkey. The statement also offered condolences to the victims' families and wished the injured a quick recovery. John R. Bass, ambassador of the United States to Turkey, and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

also issued statements of solidarity with Turkey.

Aftermath

Following the bombing, the avenue was closed to traffic, and the Vezneciler metro station was closed. The public was evacuated from the area. After the evacuation of the area, security forces conducted a controlled explosion, which was heard by bystanders. Eyewitnesses also heard gunfire after the explosion, which was due to police officers firing in the air to restore order. Around 4 hours after the bombing, a ban on broadcasts of the bombing was put in place. All exams at

were cancelled. President Erdoğan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has stated that "all indicators and signs regarding the attack" indicate that the

or another Kurdish separatist group carried out the bombing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Istanbul bombing, 2016 06

June June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...