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32 injured in bomb attack in Istanbul's Taksim Square

Jigs

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Sunday, October 31, 2010
ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires


The search for culprits was ongoing Sunday after a suicide bomber blew himself up in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, wounding 32 people, including 15 policemen, on the final day of a cease-fire by an outlawed terrorist group.

Istanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said the male bomber tried but failed to get into a parked police van and detonated the bomb just outside the vehicle. Riot police are generally stationed at Taksim Square in case of demonstrations.

Seventeen passersby were also injured in the attack in addition to the 15 police officers, Istanbul Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said. Of the injured, 23 people were treated in hospitals and sent home the same day.

“None of the injured people face a life-threatening risk. The investigation is ongoing,” said the country’s head police chief, Oğuz Kaan Köksal, who came to Istanbul from Ankara following the bombing.

Sami Özverel, one of the injured civilians, told the private news channel CNNTürk that he initially could not understand what had happened.

“I saw my head was bleeding and felt that one of my feet was aching. I saw people jumping and windows that had broken with the noise of the bomb,” he said. “Then police came and brought me to the hospital.” Özverel was walking toward İstiklal Avenue when the bomb exploded.

“The incident is under investigation. It’s a suicide bombing,” Çapkın told reporters at the scene, adding that the bomber had blown himself to pieces.

The attack came on the deadline for the unilateral cease-fire that had been declared by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK has not made a statement about the attack and the government has not accused any group of involvement in the bombing.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

“The police were targeted and civilians were injured as well,” Mutlu said, noting that surveillance camera footage was being examined. “This is a crime against humanity. It is impossible for the perpetrators to reach their aim by disturbing the peace.”

Çapkın said bomb squads had discovered more explosive devices at the scene and were working to defuse them.

No immediate statement was made claiming responsibility for the attack, which occurred as the city was preparing to hold Republic Day parades originally planned for Friday but delayed due to heavy rain. The explosion occurred as the parade was held in another part of the city, but the event was not cancelled.

Police sealed off all roads leading to Taksim Square and forensic teams in blue coveralls were walking in line, combing the area for pieces of debris and other evidence. Some were seen walking around the ledge of a statue at the square’s center.

The body of the suicide bomber was lying on the ground. The bomber appeared to be in his early 20s, Ulutaş said.

There have been two previous suicide-bomb attacks on police near Taksim Square. The first wounded three police officers and 10 other people in 1999 and the second killed two police officers in 2001.
 
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