ISTANBUL
The attack has targeted the tourism unit of the Istanbul Security Directorate, which is located near several touristic landmarks, including the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern.
A policeman has been killed in a suicide attack by an English-speaking woman in central Istanbul, a week after another attack on Istanbul police by a far-left group.
A niqab-clad female suicide bomber targeted the building of the tourism police near the Sultanahmet Square, one of the most popular touristic places in Istanbul, on Jan. 6, NTV television reported. The assailant “exploded herself prematurely before going into the police building, as she was prevented by the guards at the entrance,” Cihan news agency reported.
Istanbul Governor Vasıf Şahin said that the suicide bomber presented herself as a tourist, telling the police in English that she had forgotten her wallet inside while attempting to enter the building moments before the attack. “One policeman is seriously wounded. The other policeman is better,” he added, while answering journalists’ questions at the crime scene.
While the body of the unidentified attacker was recovered and the injured people were hospitalized, police stopped the tram service as the area was cordoned off as a security measure. Kenan Kumaş, one of the injured policemen, died in the hospital.
Doğan News Agency footage shows the moments after the attack near the square:
Police suspect that the the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) might be behind the attack, according to NTV.
A far-left militant who served jail term for being a member of the DHKP/C had been detained in front of the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, which also houses a prime ministerial office, after throwing a bomb that failed to explode at police officers last week.
January/06/2015