Thirteen suspects had been arrested in connection with Saturday night’s “terrorist attack” that killed 38 people and wounded 155 others in Istanbul, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Sunday.
Soylu said the suspects had been detained based on evidence from the detonated vehicle, but gave no indication of who the authorities thought might be behind the attack.
Two bombs exploded less than a minute apart outside the newly built Vodafone Arena soccer stadium in a co-ordinated attack on police shortly after a match between two of Turkey’s top teams.
The first and larger explosion took place outside the Vodafone Arena about 7:30 p.m. GMT after the home team Besiktas beat visitor Bursaspor 2-1 in the Turkish Super League. Forty-five seconds later, a suspect wearing explosives detonated them while surrounded by police in an adjacent park, officials said.
Soylu said the first explosion was caused by a passing vehicle that detonated in an area where police special forces were located at the stadium exit right after the match. A riot police bus appears to have been the target.
He said those killed included 30 police officers, seven civilians and one more person whose identity had yet to be determined.
Soylu said136 people are still hospitalized from the attack, 14 of them in intensive care and five undergoing surgery.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. This year, Istanbul has witnessed a spate of attacks attributed by authorities to the Daesh group or claimed by Kurdish militants. A state of emergency is in force following a failed July 15 coup attempt.
Less than a week ago, the Daesh group urged its supporters to target Turkey’s “security, military, economic and media establishment.”
Kurdish militants often target security forces while Islamic State-linked attacks have targeted tourists and the broader public.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the blasts as a terrorist attack aimed to cause the maximum number of casualties.
“We have once again witnessed tonight in Istanbul the ugly face of terror which tramples on every value and decency,” he said in a statement.
“Nobody should doubt that with God’s will, we as a country and a nation will overcome terror, terrorist organizations ... and the forces behind them,” he said.
‘It was horrible!”
A taxi driver at the site of the bombings said the force of the first blast made him hit his head on the taximeter and that his ears were still ringing from the blasts and screaming that followed.
“Amid the screams I heard an officer saying ‘do not shout! Do not make them (the perpetrators) be satisfied,” said Ismail Coskun.
“It was like hell. The flames went all the way up to the sky. I was drinking tea at the cafe next to the mosque,” said Omer Yilmaz, who works as a cleaner at the nearby Dolmabahce mosque, directly across the road from the stadium.
“People ducked under the tables, women began crying. Football fans drinking tea at the cafe sought shelter, it was horrible,” he said.
Investigators, including Istanbul Police Chief Mustafa Caliskan, were quickly on the scene. Forensic experts in white uniforms scoured the vicinity of the stadium and the vast park where the suicide bombing took place.
The Besiktas sports club “strongly condemned” the attack and said an employee of one of its stores was among the fatalities, as well as a member of its congress who was also responsible for security at the stadium.
Bursaspor reported that none of the wounded were fans and issued a statement wishing “a speedy recovery to our wounded citizens.”
Health Minister Recep Akdag said six of the wounded remained in intensive care, with three of them in critical condition.
‘Many elements’
Soylu acknowledged the country was struggling against “many elements” trying to compromise its fight against terrorism.
Turkey is a member of the NATO military alliance and part of the US-led coalition against Daesh. It launched a military incursion into Syria in August against the radical Islamist group. It is also fighting a Kurdish militant insurgency in its own 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.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned what he described as “horrific acts of terror,” while European leaders also sent messages of solidarity. The United States condemned the attack and said it stood with its NATO ally.

Source: Arab News