Timed suicide blasts fatal to 29 in Turkey

Rescue services rush to the scene of explosions near the Besiktas football club stadium, following at attack in Istanbul, late Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016.
Rescue services rush to the scene of explosions near the Besiktas football club stadium, following at attack in Istanbul, late Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016.

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 attack in a nation confronting an array of security threats.

The bombs targeted police officers, killing 27 of them along with two civilians, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters early today. He added that 10 people had been arrested in 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," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.

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

Police cordoned off the area as smoke rose from behind the stadium and ambulances began ferrying the wounded to hospitals.

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

Soylu acknowledged that the country was struggling against "many elements" trying to compromise its fight against terrorism.

Turkey is a partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the 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."

A Section on 12/11/2016

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