Female suicide bomber hits police station in Istanbul’s historic heart

A female suicide bomber killed herself and a Turkish policeman in a strike on the heart of Istanbul’s tourist district, the second attack on police to shake city within a week. The government denounced the bombing as a “heinous terror attack” against the “new Turkey” under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said only the bravery of police had prevented a higher toll. The attack came five days after a member of an outlawed Marxist radical group DHKP-C attacked police on guard outside the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul on the Bosphorus. There was no immediate official indication of a link between the two attacks. But some Turkish media reports said the suicide bomber was a young woman in her mid-twenties who was a member of the DHKP-C.

We were shaken by a very loud blast. There were customers and everyone dropped to the floor.

Kaan Koc, who works just across from the station

The woman went into the police station in the Sultanahmet district and told the police in English she had lost her wallet before setting off her explosives, governor Vasip Sahin said on Turkish television. The Sultanahmet district, which is the home of world famous attractions including the Blue Mosque and Aga Sophia museum, is visited by thousands of Turkish and foreign tourists every day. One policeman was badly wounded and died of his wounds in hospital, the official Anatolia news agency reported. A second policeman was lightly wounded. Both were staffing a tourist police post intended to assist tourists with questions and problems. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hailed the bravery of the police for potentially preventing further casualties. He added that a major investigation was underway to determine which organisation could be behind the attack but refused to speculate further.

The target of this attacks is the new Turkey, our beloved nation. But they won’t succeed. They won’t be able to destroy our brotherhood and unity.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus on Twitter

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